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1 KLAIPĖDA UNIVERSITY SOCIAL SCIENCE FACULTY REGIONAL FORMATION AND DEVELOPMENT STUDIES Journal of Social Sciences No. 1 (21) Klaipėda, 2017

2 Regional Formation and Development Studies Klaipėda University Social Science Faculty Scientific Editor Prof. Dr. Antanas Bučinskas Klaipėda University (Lithuania) Deputy of scientific editor Prof. 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 Aix Marseilles University (France) Prof. Dr. Hilmar Þór Hilmarsson University of Akureyri (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: Ingrida Sirvydaitė (Lithuania) Cover design: Vilhelmas Giedraitis (Lithuania) The first number was published in There are 3 annual volumes in Lithuanian, English languages. The journal included in EBSCO Publishing Business Source Complete databases ( From 2014 all publications have a digital object identifier (DOI) number Address: Herkaus Manto g. 84, LT Klaipėda, Lietuva, tel. (370 46) , fax (370 46) Internet address: Klaipėda University, 2017 Social Science Faculty, 2017 Every paper is revised by two reviewers ISSN

3 PREFACE Dear readers of the journal, This current issue offers you different approaches to important regional problems. All the papers can be conditionally attributed to: ecology, public administration, business, and competencies of managers. E. Cepuritis, J. Ulme, S. Graudina-Bombiza present their research results on beach litter monitoring on the Latvian coastline. Another paper by E. Lagzina, I. Kudrenickis, R. Ernsteins, and J. Kaulins analyses coastal governance methodology. Yet slightly different approach to ecology can be found in the article about media ecology presented by R. Vaičiulė. T. Gogol analyses public administration problems in the development areas of Ukraine, whereas A. Baia and H. Viveiros highlight youth unemployment in depressed areas of Portugal. Two articles are devoted a to consumer behaviour issues: one by D. Kiyak, L. Pranckevičiūtė, and I. Volskytė analyses consumer behaviour choosing dental services, while the other present insight on the museum services modernization process (L. Šimanskienė, R. Valiušienė, B. Sloka). Hilmar Þór Hilmarsson analyses the main question for Iceland: Is it worth for it to become a member of the EU or join the Euro zone? Furthermore, A. Fominienė and V. Grigaitinė discuss the feasibility to improve business incubation processes. A. Petrulis introduces readers with managerial styles that are most preferable for employees, and, finally, R. Paulienė draws attention on managerial competencies in business organizations. Thus the current issue of the journal offers you analyses ofdifferent regional problems as well as their solutions presented by scientists from Ukraine, Lithuania, Latvia, Portugal, and Iceland. Enjoy your reading, Prof. dr. Ligita Šimanskienė Deputy of Redactor of Journal PRATARMĖ Sveiki, mieli skaitytojai. Šiame žurnalo numeryje pateiktuose straipsniuose aptariamos kelios temos, svarbios regionams, santykinai jas galime taip suskirstyti: ekologija, viešasis administravimas, verslas, vadovų kompetencijos. E. Cepuritis, J. Ulme, S. Graudina-Bombiza pateikia įdomius tyrimų rezultatus apie paplūdimių taršos stebėjimus Latvijos paplūdimiuose. Kitas susijęs straipsnis apie pakrančių valdymo tyrimų metodikos kūrimą pateiktas E. Lagzinios, I. Kudrenickio, R. Ernsteino, J. Kaulinso. Kiek kitokią, t. y. medijų, ekologiją analizuoja R. Vaičiulė. T. Gogol aptaria viešojo administravimo problematiką Ukrainoje, A. Baia, H. Viveiros jaunimo nedarbo problemas probleminiuose regionuose Portugalijoje. Du straipsniai analizuoja vartotojų elgseną: vienas renkantis odontologo paslaugas (D. Kiyak, L. Pranckevičiūtė, I. Volskytė), kitame analizuojami muziejų paslaugų modernizavimo klausimai (L. Šimanskienė, R. Valiušienė, B. Sloka). H. Þór Hilmarssonas analizuoja Islandijos poreikį prisijungti prie ES ar euro zonos. A. Fominienė, V. Grigaitienė vertina verslo inkubavimo procesų tobulinimo galimybes. Skaitytojus gali sudominti A. Petrulio pateiktos tinkamiausio darbuotojams vadovo paieškos, R. Paulienės vadovų kompetencijų raiška verslo organizacijose. Taigi šiame numeryje galėsite sužinoti, kokios regioninės problemos aktualios ir kokie sprendimo būdai siūlomi mokslininkų iš Ukrainos, Lietuvos, Latvijos, Portugalijos, Islandijos. Smagaus skaitymo Prof. dr. Ligita Šimanskienė Žurnalo redaktoriaus pavaduotoja 3

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5 TURINYS Amândio Bai a, Helga Viveiros Youth Unemployment among University Graduates in a Depressed Area in Portugal / 7 (Universitetų absolventų nedarbas Portugalijos depresinėse zonose) / 18 Edmunds Cepurītis, Jānis Ulme, Sintija Graudiņa-Bombiza Development of Beach Litter Monitoring on the Latvian Coastline: the Citizen Science Perspective / 19 (Paplūdimių taršos stebėjimas Latvijos pakrantėje: piliečių požiūris) / 32 Asta Fominienė, Viktorija Grigaitienė Assessment of the Feasibility to Improve Business Incubation Processes / 34 (Verslo inkubavimo procesų tobulinimo galimybių vertinimas) / 41 Tatyana Gogol Public Administration of the Development Areas in Ukraine / 43 (Mažiau išsivysčiusių Ukrainos regionų viešasis administravimas) / 52 Hilmar Þór Hilmarsson Should Iceland Seek Europen Union and Euro Area Membership? / 53 (Ar Islandija turėtų stoti į Europos Sąjungą ir prisijungti prie euro zonos?) / 66 Deimena Kiyak, Linara Pranckevičiūtė, Ieva Volskytė Vartotojų elgsenos renkantis odontologų paslaugas teikiančią įstaigą tyrimas Vakarų Lietuvoje / 68 (Research on Consumer Behaviour: Choosing Dental Services in the Western Region of Lithuania) / 81 Erika Lagzdina, Ivars Kudrenickis, Raimonds Ernsteins, Janis Kaulins Coastal Sustainable Development Studies in Latvia: Integrated Local Social-Ecological Systems Governance / 83 (Integruotos pakrančių valdymo plėtros studijos Latvijoje: sistemos analizės metodikos pritaikymas) / 96 Rasa Paulienė Interaction between Managerial Competencies and Leadership in Business Organisations / 98 (Vadovų kompetencijų ir lyderystės sąveika verslo organizacijose) / 108 Arnoldas Petrulis Darbuotojams priimtiniausias vadovavimo stilius organizacijoje / 109 (The Most Preferable Leadership Style from the Point of View of Empoyees) / 120 Ligita Šimanskienė, Rugilė Valiušienė, Biruta Sloka Lietuvos ir Latvijos muziejų paslaugų modernizavimas: stebėjimo rezultatai / 122 (Museum Services Modernization in Latvia and Lithuania: Observation Results) / 130 Rosita Vaičiulė Medijų ekologija: ekoemocinės srities identifikacijos teorinis kontekstas / 131 (Media Ecology: the Theoretical Context of Ecoemotional Field) / 137 5

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7 ISSN (Print), ISSN (Online). Regional Formation and Development Studies, No. 1 (21) Youth unemployment among university graduates 1 in a depressed area IN Portugal Amândio Baía 2, Helga Viveiros 3 Guarda Polytechnic (Portugal), Town Hall of Guarda (Portugal) ABSTRACT Unemployment stands out as a major concern of policy makers, particularly in the case of youth unemployment. We intend to depict the reality of youth unemployment among university graduates in the Guar Municipality, as well as ascertain the possible causes and consequences of the phenomenon. We also aim to give some recommendations for decisions makers, so that these young people would take up residence in this region, which suffers from aging and depopulation issues. The main respondents of a questionnaire reported that it is not easy to get a job in a depressed area, i.e., the Guar Municipality, because labour supply has been reduced due to the closure of industries and companies in traditional sectors and to the lack of incentives for people and companies to take up residence in the area. Keywords: youth unemployment, unemployment, depressed areas. Jel Codes: J640, J620, R580 DOI: Introduction Unemployment has currently become one of the greatest social problems. In the context of the present Portuguese crisis, the unemployment phenomenon, and particularly youth unemployment, has received special attention. In recent years, Portugal has seen a very sharp increase in the youth unemployment rate. At the end of 2015 it was quite close to 33% (INE, 2016). It is therefore a very disturbing reality, and especially so in recent times it has affected not only unskilled individuals, but also thousands of higher education graduates, thus constituting a serious economic, political and social problem (Sá, 2014). In 2014, the Portuguese rate of unemployed higher education graduates was 10%. Besides, youth unemployment is more sensitive to the economic cycle than other age groups, since young people: develop economic activities of a more cyclic nature; are disproportionately present among those working part-time and/or have fixed-term employment contracts; face greater challenges in entering labour market, given their lack of experience and the possible mismatch between the skills they have to offer and the ones that employers seek. Also, during recession periods, not only young people are at the forefront of those who lose their jobs, since their employment contracts are not renewed, but also their job prospects, when entering the labour market, 1 Polytechnic of Guarda PORTUGAL. UDI Research Unit for Inland Development of Guarda Polytechnic Institute. 2 Amândio Baía Guarda Polytechnic, (Portugal), Management Department, Management Area Scientific interests: employment policy, unemployment baia@ipg.pt Tel Helga Viveiros works for the Town Hall of Guarda Portugal, Master s degree in Business Administration in the Polytechnic of Guarda Scientific interests: employment policy, unemployment helgavive@gmail.com 7

8 Amândio Baía, Helga Viveiros YOUTH UNEMPLOYMENT AMONG UNIVERSITY GRADUATES IN A DEPRESSED AREA IN PORTUGAL decrease because they have to compete with others, who have more work experience and also seek for employment in a market that has few jobs to offer. In the Guar Municipality, where employment opportunities are scarce, this reality is even more acute. The aim of this research is to understand the problem of employability of higher education graduates in a depressed area, the Guar Municipality. In particular, we hope to understand the causes that lead young people to moving away from this region. Another purpose of this investigation is to make some recommendations for decision-makers to help attract these people to the region with an aging population that suffers from the noticeable depopulation process. 1. Literature review The current economic and financial crisis that most of the European countries is going through caused a deterioration in the macroeconomic performance of many economies. For example, Pedroso et al. (2005) reported that within a macroeconomic framework characterized by increasing globalization and liberalization of trade and an aging population, Europe has been struggling with the problem of stagnation of the growth of its main economies. We are facing increasingly competitive economies on a global scale, where only the most powerful survive. However, problems, such as increased unemployment, occur within the less competitive economies. Mateus (2010) also shares the same opinion, stating that the development of a new competitive geography in the world economy is no longer an embryonic trend. Portugal is one of the most affected countries by this phenomenon of unemployment, the result of a weak uncompetitive and exposed economy. As a result, several companies saw their production go down, leading them to bankruptcy and increased unemployment. Explanations about the increased rate of unemployment will be many, including population growth, increased productivity rates, technological developments and competitiveness that comes from globalization, which leads companies to reducing costs, making room for unemployment growth and new forms of employment, such as temporary and subcontracted work (Campos, 2009). According to Eurofound (2012) The immediate future of Europe depends on 94 million Europeans aged between 15 and 29 years-old. In addition to the challenges that young people have faced for generations in the process of passage to adulthood, this generation will live in a time when globalization is complete and will have to handle the responsibility of an aging population. In Portugal, although the number of unemployed young people has slightly decreased between the years 2012 and 2014, it has, however, more than tripled between 2000 and 2014 (353.28%) (INE, 2015). Quintini and Martin (2006) remind us that the person s track record in labour market will influence the probability of getting a job. Scarpeta et al. (2010) complete this idea, arguing that those who experience long periods of unemployment will have negative consequences in the future, not only in terms of employability, but also in regard to wages. As stated by Gonçalves (2005), it is important to point out the enormous disparities between countries with youth unemployment, which greatly end up reflecting different educational systems of each country and the respective employment system. According to Eichhorst (2013), the low youth unemployment rates in such countries as Germany, Austria and the Netherlands are due to professional qualifications in force, namely, the case of dual education in those countries. Corredera (2005) states that unemployment is a reflection of the failed economic system where young people are the most affected by it. Hashem (2011) agrees that young people are the most affected, but in the case of Tunisia he highlights the difficulties that young people experience when seeking their first jobs, especially women, who have greater difficulties because in they have less rights in this country and so are the most discriminated ones in the labour market. In their research, Gonçalves (2005), Corredera (2005) and Dietmar (2010) warned about the unfavourable situation of young people in Portugal. Hashem (2011) and Gonçalves (2005) indicate that unemployment data are less favourable for women, which is confirmed by a situation in Portugal. If in stable times young people are more vulnerable to unemployment, in times of crisis, this vulnerability is even further aggravated due to young people s high participation in temporary work and especially in industries which are sensitive 8

9 ISSN (Print), ISSN (Online). Regional Formation and Development Studies, No. 1 (21) to economic cycles (Scarpetta et al., 2010). Moreover, to make the picture even worse, the effect is faster during economic recession (increase in unemployment rate) than in periods of economic recovery (decrease in the unemployment rate) (Quintini, 2011). Some authors, Quintini and Martin (2006), as a reason emphasize school dropouts, the labour market conditions and the lack of correspondence between young people skills and the labour market needs. Entrepreneurship among young people is often seen as a good measure to combat youth unemployment (Privat, 2010). However, Hashem (2011) found that in Tunisia SMEs have a very low success rate, because young people having a higher education degree, have little experience in labour market for to undertake alone the responsibility for their own business, therefore it is only a short-term solution. Some argue that in the fight against unemployment, investing in education is very important, since the likelihood of unemployment decreases when the individual has a higher level of education; this also has a beneficial effect on the duration of unemployment, especially if together with education there is also job experience, which has a higher impact (Marks and Fleming, 1998). The authors add that education has greater influence on young males rather than females. Thus, the difficulty in entering labour market has been gaining importance, particularly with regard to the transition from education to the labour market for highly qualified people (Alves, 2005). Therefore, one way to overcome this problem and to adapt labour to the market needs is the education system used in Austria, Denmark, Germany and Switzerland, where students go to school and work simultaneously, achieving a balance between theory and practice. This is a good way to enter labour market, and perhaps this is why these countries have low youth unemployment rates (Quintini and Martin, 2006). However, naturally these young people feel disappointed. They postpone their professional career, marriage and children plans (Marques, 2003), in order to be rewarded in the future. When faced with unemployment, they encounter: financial hardship; deprivation of certain psychological experiences, which usually happen in the workplace; decreased contact with people outside the family sphere and increased difficulty to structure their time (Paulino et al., 2010). Likewise, Caetano et al. (2005) pointed out that young people do not have adequate training to meet the demands of labour market that is in constant evolution and transformation. In the same vein, Lawrence (2012) goes a step further, stating that this inadequacy lies in the multitude of existing degrees, and most of them do not have great functionality and are not in demand by the economy. Faced with this problem, the same author raises the question whether it would not be worth doing a study to examine the relationship between the percentage of unemployed young people and the degrees they attended (Lawrence, 2012), in order to understand which education degrees do not lead to creation of jobs and thus are on the verge of extinction. In addition, more than a fifth of employees have fixed-term employment contracts and they are mainly young people (Centeno and Novo, 2012). According to the International Labour Conference Report (2012), youth unemployment is seen as wastage of potential talent, considered vital for the economy and rejuvenation of labour. It can be argued that individuals emigrate, not by choice, but due to labour market that cannot absorb them or remunerate them properly, which forces to seek for employment in other countries with more attractive offers (Eichhorst, 2013). In Portugal, the measures implemented to combat unemployment have only short-term impact (IEFP, 2013). Quintini (2011) believes that a good way to tackle youth unemployment is by adopting policies that promote the continuation of studies for young people. Apparently, this idea could even be a viable solution, because as we have seen, there are studies that indicate that the unemployment rate among young people decreases when they reach a higher educational level (Scarpetta et al., 2010). Moreover, according to Alves (2005), although the situation is getting worse, there are relatively few (3%) higher education graduates who are in unemployment over 3 to 5 years after the completion of the course. In disadvantaged regions, such as Guar, job offers are scarce, due to the closure of companies caused by the economic crisis. Consequently higher education graduates are forced to look for other jobs within the country or abroad, contributing to the depopulation and impoverishment of the region. The prevailing question, that needs an urgent answer, concerns the conditions to be created to entice these higher education graduates to settle in this region. 9

10 Amândio Baía, Helga Viveiros YOUTH UNEMPLOYMENT AMONG UNIVERSITY GRADUATES IN A DEPRESSED AREA IN PORTUGAL 2. Methodology In our research, we decided to perform a case study, randomly selecting a sample of young people, higher education graduates, having a connection with the Guar Municipality. The aim of the study was to get answers to the following questions. Generic research question: we want to understand the employment issues of young people, higher education graduates, which have a connection with the Guar Municipality, and to find out what measures should be implemented to help them settle in this region. In order to answer this generic question in detail, the following questions were considered: Specific questions: What is a profile of unemployed young person, under 40 years old, which is a higher education graduate and has a connection with the Guar Municipality? Are there any significant differences between gender, age, marital status, residence, academic degree, current employment status and the main reason that encouraged those young people to enter higher education? What is their perception about finding a job in the nearest future and their vision how to encourage young people to take up residence in this region? A questionnaire was chosen as an observation tool for data collection in this area. The questionnaire was based on theoretical research, grounded on the hypothesis, followed by subsequent computer and statistical treatment of the obtained data. In order to ensure validity of the questionnaire, a pre-test was prepared for a group of 10 people, who provided feedback about coherence and general understanding, so that necessary adjustments could be made. This test intended to verify that the questions would be interpreted the same way by all respondents, all aspects of the issues would be well addressed. Consequently, this helped to identify questions that needed to be re-written or even to be deleted from the final version. Therefore, we developed a non-probabilistic, random, accidental and universal sample for the study young people with a Bachelor s degree, as minimum academic qualification, and aged between 20 and 40 years of age. The survey aimed to know the opinion of young people with higher education about unemployment in the Guar Municipality, namely, to find out the main causes of this problem and to highlight measures that need to be taken to lower the unemployment rate and to raise the employment expectations. So, between November and December of 2014, the questionnaire surveys were delivered in various locations of the Guar Municipality, personally and directly, i.e., face to face to 200 people, who were guaranteed anonymity. They were left on their own to complete the survey and then the surveys were collected. There was a 75% response rate of the surveys applied, corresponding to 150 valid questionnaires, which are further on analysed in our study. When preparing questions for the questionnaire we took into account the conducted literature review. Therefore, closed questions were used in the questionnaire to obtain comparable data. The questionnaire was structured in two parts. In the first part, there was collected data on the respondents, i.e. characterization of the sample, namely, age, gender, marital status, residence, academic degree, date of graduation, current situation, spouse situation and the last time the respondent sought for a job. In the second part, the data on the respondents perceptions were collected namely on the employment issue in the Guar Municipality. The respondents were asked to suggest solutions, based on their assumptions, about the best way to get a job, as well as to point out the main obstacles in finding a job, the measures to be adopted for keeping young people in Guar and, finally, their expectations of getting a job in the Guar Municipality. All the statistical data was processed by IBM SPSS software (v22 SPSS Inc. Chicago, IL) and Excel (Microsoft Office 2013, Microsoft Corporation). For testing the defined research questions an error probability Type I (α) of 0.05 was used. 10

11 ISSN (Print), ISSN (Online). Regional Formation and Development Studies, No. 1 (21) 3. Guar Municipality Population. The Guar Municipality has inhabitants in its urban area. It lost 3.75% of its resident population between 2011 and 2014 (PORDATA, 2015). In 2014, 58.9% of the population was over 40-yearold and 21.3% over 65-year-old, showing an aging municipality, particularly in rural areas (PORDATA, 2015). Education. The Guar Municipality has educational structures capable to correspond to young people s needs and requested quality. Access to locality. The Guar Municipality has important access roads, however, from a logistic point of view, the territory presents barriers in terms of accessibility. Therefore, it hinders a better economic and social performance, due to the distances and associated mobility costs, which necessarily affect the dynamics of business attraction, retention of people and quality of life (PEDI, 2014). As far as railways are concerned, Guarda has good railway access. Economy. From the economic point of view, the territory is marked by high unemployment, where the tertiary sector is the main creator of jobs and the one that creates value. In a more structural perspective, the territory has its advantages in the strategic positioning, including its neighbourhood to Spain and availability of facilities: tourism, catering, culture, education, science and technology and community, i.e. the diversity of resources as well as natural heritage and local products (PEDI, 2014). The poor job offer in the Guar Municipality makes young people look for work elsewhere, whereas many of them are left with the only option to emigrate. 4. Results and discussion Overall, out of 150 respondents 53.3% were women, 55.3% were aged between 30 and 40 years old, 62% were single and 69.3% lived in the Guar Municipality. Moreover, 82% of those surveyed, had a Bachelor degree, 59.3% were employed and 55.3% stated that their main source of income was their job. However, 60% of the respondents, as the main obstacle when looking for a job associated with reduced labour supply. The latter happened due to the current economic and social context, the closure of industries and companies in traditional sectors (52.7%) and the lack of incentives for the establishment of companies in the region (2.7%). Furthermore, 30.0% responded that, given an unemployment situation, the best option to get a job is to create your own business, or consider entrepreneurship as an opportunity to get a job, which to some extent reinforces the relevance of deepening these topics in the higher education curricula. As for the measures that may be adopted for encouraging young people to settle in the Municipality, most of the respondents (22.7%) indicated the reduction of tolls on the A23 and A25 roads, which would decrease the region s isolation. Another measure would be the exemption of fees for construction, reconstruction, rehabilitation or acquisition of property. Regarding the expectations towards future employment in the Guar Municipality, the majority of respondents (42.2%) answered that it was not easy to find a job, and (41.3%) stated that it was due to the economic and social crisis, which they believed would eventually come to an end Research hypotheses In order to validate the research questions, the following research hypotheses have been formulated: H ij There is a significant relationship between the variable i (i = Motive for Entering Higher Education, Current Income Source, Previous Jobs, Best option to get a job, Obstacles to getting a job, Employability Issue, Youth Settling in the Municipality, Expectations for the Future) and the variable j (j = Gender, Age, Marital Status, Residence, Academic Degree, Academic Degree Graduation Date, Current Professional Situation). 11

12 Amândio Baía, Helga Viveiros YOUTH UNEMPLOYMENT AMONG UNIVERSITY GRADUATES IN A DEPRESSED AREA IN PORTUGAL As an example, the next null hypothesis is stated. H There is no relationship between Obstacles to getting a job and Age. To test the general research issues we resorted to the non-parametric Kruskal-Wallis test, followed by the multiple comparison of mean scores as described by Maroco (2011). In Table 1 the non-parametric Kruskal-Wallis test statistics are presented for the level of significance (α) of 5%. Table 1. Non-parametric Kruskal-Wallis test Variables Current Professional Situation Gender Age Marital Status Residence Academic Graduation Professional Degree date Situation χ 2 p χ 2 p χ 2 p χ 2 p χ 2 p χ 2 p χ 2 P 5,890 0,015 17,062 0,000 8,544 0,014 0,474 0,491 4,811 0,186 6,065 0,048 Higher Education 2,055 0,152 2,917 0,233 0,572 0,751 0,244 0,621 0,606 0,895 4,313 0,116 1,512 0,680 Actual Income source 1,122 0,289 31,336 0,00 1,288 0,525 0,474 0,491 2,795 0,424 19,080 0,000 39,792 0,000 Previous Jobs 1,808 0,179 35,804 0,000 7,274 0,026 0,454 0,500 1,329 0,722 32,389 0,000 60,979 0,000 Best option to get a job 0,759 0,384 5, ,144 0,208 0,036 0,849 2,326 0,508 0,589 0,745 2,388 0,496 Obstacles to getting 1,000 0,317 3,941 0,139 2,363 0,307 3,811 0,051 3,090 0,378 1,860 0,395 2,307 0,511 a job Employability Issue 0,421 0,517 2,105 0,349 3,774 0,152 0,044 0,834 1,791 0,617 0,034 0,983 0,541 0,910 Youth Settling in the 1,321 0,250 0,638 0,727 1,921 0,383 1,892 0,169 2,663 0,447 1,314 0,518 3, Municipality Future Expectations 8,178 0,004 5,287 0,071 6,539 0,038 0,703 0,402 1,713 0,634 0,244 0,885 4,431 0,219 Gender, Age, Marital Status, and Academic Degree Graduation Date have a statistically significant effect (p = 0.05) on the Current Professional Situation women are the ones who have a lower employment rate in relation to men, i.e., 70.1% and 50.6% respectively (Table 2). Table 2. Gender Current Professional Situation Current Professional Situation Have never had Total Employed Student Unemployed a Job Male % in Gender 70.1% 3.0% 13.4% 13.4% 100.0% Gender Female % in Gender 50.6% 10.8% 9.6% 28.9% 100.0% Total % in Gender 59.3% 7.3% 11.3% 22.0% 100.0% In addition, 71.9% of the employed respondents are between years old and 5.6% are years of age. However, 15.2% of the unemployed are aged between years and 57.6% are between years of age (Table 3). 12

13 ISSN (Print), ISSN (Online). Regional Formation and Development Studies, No. 1 (21) Table 3. Age Current Professional Situation Current Professional Situation Employed Have never had Total Student Unemployed a Job % Situation 5.6 % 63.6 % 70.6 % 15.2 % 19.3 % Age % Situation 22.5 % 36.4 % 29.4 % 27.3 % 25.3 % % Situation 71.9 % 0.0 % 0.0 % 57.6 % 55.4 % Total % Situation % % % % % Overall, 80.6% of the respondents, who graduated before 2004, are employed. There are 12.0% of the respondents who graduated between 2010 and 2014 and have never had a job, whereas 22.7% have kept on studying and 18.6% are still unemployed (Table 4). Table 4. Academic Degree Graduation Date Current Professional Situation Current Professional Situation Have never had Total Employed Student Unemployed a Job <2004 % Graduation 80.6% 0.0% 0.0% 19.4% 100.0% Academic % Graduation 65.9% 4.6% 0.0% 29.5% 100.0% Degree % Graduation 46.7% 12.0% 22.7% 18.60% 100.0% Total % Graduation 59.3% 7.30% 11.3% 22.0% 100.0% There are 63.6% unemployed respondents who are single and 36.4% who are married or are in a civil partnership. Then, 50.6% of the employed respondents are single and 7.9% are divorced (Table 5). Table 5. Marital Status Current Professional Situation Current Professional Situation Have never Total Employed Student Unemployed had a Job Single % Situation 50.6% 90.9% 100% 63.6% 62% Marital Married / partnership % Situation 41.6% 0.0% 0.0% 36.4% 32.7% Status Divorced % Situation 7.9% 9.1% 0.0% 0.0% 5.3% Total % Situation 100.0% 100.0% 100.0% 100.0% 100.0% Only the factors of Age, Graduation Date and Current Professional Situation have a statistically significant effect (p 0.05) on the Main Current Income Source. Respondents in the group of and years of age,,as the main source of income mentioned their jobs, in contrast to the years old group, where they mentioned family as the main source of income (Table 6). Table 6. Age Income source Income source Unemployment Total Wages / salary Rents Savings Family Others Benefits % Age 0.0 % 13.8% 0.0% 0.0% 75.9% 10.3% 100% Age % Age 18.4 % 50.0% 0.0% 0.0% 31.6% 0% 100% % Age 10.8 % 67.5% 2.4% 2.5% 6.0% 10.8% 100% Total % Age 10.7 % 52.7% 1.3% 1.3% 26.0% 8.0% 100% The respondents who had acquired their Academic Degree before 2010 reported their jobs as the main income source, while those who have completed their Academic Degree after 2010, reported family support as their main source of income, because they faced a labour market where unemployment rate is high (Table 7). 13

14 Amândio Baía, Helga Viveiros YOUTH UNEMPLOYMENT AMONG UNIVERSITY GRADUATES IN A DEPRESSED AREA IN PORTUGAL Table 7. Graduation date Income source Unemployment Benefits Income source Wages / Rents Savings Family Others salary <2004 % Graduation date 6.5% 74.2% 3.2% 3.2% 3.2% 9.7% 100% Graduation % Graduation date 22.7% 56.8% 2.3% 2.3% 9.1% 6.8% 100% date % Graduation date 5.3% 41.3% 0.0% 0.0% 45.3% 8.1% 100% Total % Graduation date 10.7% 52.7% 1.3% 1.3% 26.0% 8.0% 100% The employed respondents reported their job as the main income source. However, the unemployed reported unemployment benefits as the main income source, whereas students and the ones who had never had a job reported family support as their main source of income (Table 8). Table 8. Professional Situation Income source Income source Unemployment Wages / Total Rents Savings Family Others Benefits salary Employed % Situation 2.2% 88.8% 1.1% 0.% 2.2% 5.7% 100% Have never had Professional % Situation 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 81.8% 18.2% 100% a Job Situation Student % Situation 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 94.1% 5.9% 100% Unemployed % Situation 42.4% 0.0% 3.0% 6.1% 36.4% 12.1% 100% Total % Situation 10.7% 52.7% 1.3% 1.3% 26.0% 8.0% 100% Only the variables of Age, Marital Status, Graduation Date and Current Situation have a statistically significant interaction effect (p = 0.05) with Previous Jobs. In the the age groups of years and years there were the ones who indicated that they had already had more than one job since the completion of the Academic Degree study program, in contrast to the years old group where 58.6 % indicated they had never had a job since they finished their Academic Degree program (Table 9). Table 9. Graduation Date Jobs Jobs None Total % Age 58.6% 31.0% 6.9% 3.4% 100% Age % Age 15.8% 57.9% 26.3% 0.0% 100% % Age 1.3% 53.0% 34.9% 10.8% 100% Total % Age 16.0% 50.0% 27.3% 6.7% 100% In comparison, 24.7% single respondents had never worked and 100% of married respondents had already had one or more jobs (Table 10). Total Table 10. Marital Status Jobs Jobs None Total Single % Status 24.7% 46.2% 23.7% 5.4% 100% Marital Status Married /partnership % Status 0.0% 55.1% 38.8% 6.1% 100% Divorced % Status 12.5% 62.5% 0.0% 25.0% 100% Total % Status 16.0% 50.0% 27.3% 6.7% 100% 14

15 ISSN (Print), ISSN (Online). Regional Formation and Development Studies, No. 1 (21) Still 35.5% of the respondents who had been awarded their Academic Degree before 2004, reported having 3 to 5 jobs and 13.3% of those who had been awarded the Academic Degree after 2010 reported having 3 to 5 jobs. It should be noted that job stability has declined in recent years as a result of updating of the labour law (Table 11). Table 11. Graduation date Jobs Jobs None Total <2004 % Graduation date 0.0% 51.6% 35.5% 12.9% 100% Graduation date % Graduation date 4.5% 43.2% 45.5% 6.8% 100% % Graduation date 29.3% 53.3% 13.3% 4.1% 100% Total % Graduation date 16.0% 50.0% 27.3% 6.7% 100% The employed and unemployed respondents reported that they had more jobs after their graduation than students and the ones who had never had a job (Table 12). Table 12. Professional Situation Jobs Jobs None Total Employed % Situation 0.0% 58.4% 33.7% 7.9% 100.0% Professional Have never had a Job % Situation 100% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 100.0% Situation Student % Situation 70.6% 23.5% 5.9% 0.0% 100 % Unemployed % Situation 3.0% 57.6% 30.3% 9.1% 100.0% Total % Situation 59.3% 7.3% 11.4% 22.0% 100% None of the Gender, Age, Marital Status, Residence, Academic Degree, Graduation date and Current Situation factors had a statistically significant effect (p >0.05) over the following measures: Best option to get a job, Obstacles to getting a job, Employability Issues, and Youth Settling in the Municipality. Only the factors of Gender and Marital Status show a statistically significant interaction effect (p 0.05) with the Future Expectations of getting a job. Even though, more women (54.3%) than men (44.4%) believe that the country is passing over a negative phase due to the crisis, however, men are the ones who believe that it will be surpassed, and they will easier find a job in the Guar Municipality (Table 13). Table 13. Gender Expectations to find a job in the nearest Future Expectations to find a Job Negative Total Impossible Not Easy Easy Phase Male % Gender 19.1% 20.6% 15.9% 44.4% 100% Gender Female % Gender 3.7% 32.1% 9.9% 54.3% 10 % Total % Gender 10.4% 27.1% 12.5% 50.0% 100% Although most of the married or in a civil partnership, single and divorced people feel that the country is passing over a negative phase which will eventually end, the divorced are the most sceptical about the future, because 50% fear they will not get jobs, against 8.9% of single and 6.5% of married people. Perhaps their personal divorced situation contributes to this more pessimistic personal view (Table 14). 15

16 Amândio Baía, Helga Viveiros YOUTH UNEMPLOYMENT AMONG UNIVERSITY GRADUATES IN A DEPRESSED AREA IN PORTUGAL Table 14. Marital Status Expectations to find a in the near Future Expectations to find a Job Impossible Not Easy Easy Negative Phase Total Single % Marital status 8.9% 28.9% 13.3% 48.9% 100% Marital Status Married % Marital status 6.5% 28.3% 13.0% 52.2% 100% Divorced % Marital status 50.0% 0.0% 0.0% 50% 100% Total % Marital status 10.4% 27.1% 12.5% 50% 100% 4.2. Suggestions and recommendations Based on the survey results, we present some recommendations in order to find solutions to a problem of the graduated youth unemployment so that they could settle in the Guar Municipality: Access to locality. The Municipality presents barriers that condition better economic and social performance, due to the distances and associated mobility costs, which inevitably will affect the dynamics of attracting companies and people. It has been reported that the Guar Municipality has, in general, good infrastructure and quality of life, so it would benefit from the reduction of tolls on major roads (A23 and A25 roads) in order to attract business and people to the Municipality. Encouraging the establishment of companies. It is essential to create dynamic conditions for the local economy, either through internationalization of business, or through productive investment attraction, since the region has a short supply of companies. However, only attracting of investment can create wealth and jobs that would allow us to break the vicious cycle of depopulation and encourage boost of the Municipality. Thus, a number of measures should be implemented, including: Reducing the cost of business facilities, installation, and licensing. Reducing the tax burden (Municipal Property Tax (IMI), Collective Income Tax (IRC) and Individual Income Tax (IRS). Increasing business diversity. Strengthening and streamlining existing resources, such as tourism and handicrafts. Raise of awareness among higher education institutions. In other words, they should tailor their curricula of subjects related to entrepreneurship, thus enabling their young graduates to develop own business. It also seems crucial to increase the interaction between these educational institutions and the business sector. Special importance should be given to the 10 largest companies (having million euros of sales) of the Municipality. Conclusions Unemployment is not just a current problem, or an exclusively Portuguese problem. In Portugal, the situation deteriorated further with the economic crisis, especially in regard to young people. The current reality in the labour market means that many respondents refer to low expectations about the possibility of finding a job in the Guar Municipality, women being the most sceptical about it. Respondents also reported that one of employability issues in the Guar Municipality was the closure of industries and companies in traditional sectors. Therefore, it is crucial to arrange solutions to attract and retain businesses in the Municipality. Reducing the cost of business facilities, installation, and licensing, along with the reduction of IMI, IRC and IRS may be enhancing measures. After all, the respondents also distinguished such a measure as the reduction of tolls on highways that they believe it would keep young people in the Municipality. Higher Education Institutions, located in the region, are financially and socially very important, because beyond their traditional role of teaching, they also promote research activities, knowledge transfer, business training, community development, thus con- 16

17 ISSN (Print), ISSN (Online). Regional Formation and Development Studies, No. 1 (21) tributing to regional and local development. The Polytechnic Institute of Guarda, the only Higher Education Institution in the Municipality, has to play a key role in this unemployment issue. However, it was difficult to obtain the answers to the questionnaire surveys, reflected in the sample size, thus limiting the conclusions drawn from the statistical analysis. Summarising, we would like to leave some suggestions for future research, though the pointed issues were not the main purpose of this project: To extend the research on the Guar District so that to see if it shows the same trends. To study the impact of lower tolls on this Municipality. Would this policy prove itself, bring benefits and contribute to the increasing number of young people living there? References Alves, M. G. (2005). Como se Entrelaçam a Educação e o Emprego? Contributo da Investigação Sobre Higher education graduates, Mestres e Doutores. Interações, Vol. 1, p Caetano, J., Galego, A., Costa, S. (2005). Portugal e o alargamento da União Europeia: alguns impactos sócio-económicos. Análise Social, Vol. 40, No 175, p Campos, A. M. (2009). Depressão e Optimismo: Uma visão do desemprego sob o prisma da psicologia da saúde. Instituto Politécnico de Beja, Escola Superior de Educação de Beja, Universidade do Algarve, Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia. Available: Depress%C3%A3o.pdf [accessed 30th September 2014]. Centeno, M., Novo, A. A. (2012). Segmentação, Banco de Portugal. Boletim Económico, Primavera, Vol. 18, No. 1, p Corredera, J. E. (2005). Regional Labor Markets, Unemployment and Inequality in Europe. Available: utexas.edu/etd/d/2005/garcilazoj11585/garcilazoj11585.pdf [accessed 10th December 2014]. Dietmar, A. (2010). Youth Migration: Reaping the Benefits and Mitigating the Risks. MDG-F mid- term evaluation: Youth and Employment and Migration-Albania. Available: YEM-Mid-term%20Evolution_sp%20UPDATED.pdf [accessed 24 th March 2015]. Eichhorst, W., Hinte, H., Rinne, U. (2013) Youth Unemployment in Europe: What to Do about It? IZA Policy Paper 65. Bonn: Institute for the Study of Labor. Eurofound, E. F. (2012). NEETs Young people not in employment, education or training: Characteristics, costs and policy responses in Europe: Executive summary. Available: en/1/ef12541en.pdf [accessed 25 th October 2014]. Gonçalves, C. (2005). Evoluções Recentes do Desemprego em Portugal. Available: [accessed 20th May 2015]. Hashem, M. H. (2011). Engaging Tunisian youth to Achieve the MDGs (Vols. MDG-F Mid-term Evaluation: Youth, Employment and Migration). Available: -%20Midterm% 20Evaluation%20Report.pdf [accessed 9 th April 2015]. IBM SPSS. (2015). Statistics for Windows. SPSS Inc Chicago, I, USA. INE (2009). Estimativas provisórias de população residente, 2008 Portugal. NUTS II, NUTS III e municípios. Lisboa: Instituto Nacional de Estatística, IP. INE. (2015). Instituo Nacional de Estatística. Available: [accessed 30th November 2016]. Lourenço, C. (2012). Basta! O que fazer para tirar a crise de Portugal. Lisboa: Matéria-Prima. Marks, G. N., Fleming, N. (1998). Factors Influencing Youth Unemployment in Australia: Longitudinal surveys of Australian youth. Research report No. 7. Acer Publishing. Maroco, J. (2011). Análise Estatística Com utilização do SPSS. Lisboa: Edições Sílabo, Lda. Lisboa. Marques, A. P. (2003). Mercados Profissionais e (Di)Visões Identitárias de Jovens Engenheiros. Available: letras.up.pt/uploads/ficheiros/271.pdf [accessed 20th May 2015]. Mateus, A. (2010). Relatório sobre o Desenvolvimento da Economia Portuguesa. Gabinete de Estudos da Caixa Geral de Depósitos, Vol. 1, p MDG-F. (2007). Thematic Window Terms of References Youth, Employment and Migration. Available: mdgfund.org/sites/default/files/mdgftor-youth-employment-24-aug-2007.pdf [accessed 22th March 2015]. Paulino, A. R., Coimbra, J. L., Gonçalves, C. M. (2010). Diplomados do Ensino Superior na Transição para o Trabalho (2 ed.), Vol. 11. In R. B. Profissional (ed.). Vivências e Significados. PEDI. (2014). Plano Estratégico de Desenvolvimento Intermunicipal. Comunidade Intermunicipal das Beiras e Serra da Estrela, Setembro. PORDATA. (2015). Available: [accessed 30th November 2015]. 17

18 Amândio Baía, Helga Viveiros YOUTH UNEMPLOYMENT AMONG UNIVERSITY GRADUATES IN A DEPRESSED AREA IN PORTUGAL Privat, C. (2010). Promócion del Empleo y las MYPE de Jóvenes y Gestion de la Migración Laboral Juvenil. F-ODM Evaluacion intermedia: Juventud, Empleo y Migración. Available: Peru-YEM-Mid-Term Evaluation%20Report-Final-sp%20UPDATED.pdf [accessed 9th April 2015]. Quintini, G. (2011). Right for the Job: Over-Qualified or Under-Skilled? OECD Social. Employment and Migration Working Papers, Vol OECD Publishing. Quintini, G., Martin, S. (2006). Starting Well or Losing their Way? The Position of Youth in the Labour Market in OECD Countries. OCED Social, Employment and Migration Working Papers. Available: els/emp/ pdf Sá, V. C. N., Pedroso, P., Ferreira, A. C., Dornelas, A., Estanque, E., Centeno, M., Novo, A. (2014). O Desemprego Jovem em Portugal. Tese de Mestrado. FEUC Universidade de Coimbra. Scarpeta, S., Sonnet, A., Manfredi, T. (2010). Rising Youth Unemployment During The Crisis: How to Prevent Negative Long-term Consequences on a Generation? OECD Social, Employment and Migration Working Papers. OECD. Available: WD/SEM(2010)6&doclanguage=en UNIVERSITETŲ ABSOLVENTŲ NEDARBAS PORTUGALIJOS DEPRESINĖSE ZONOSE Amândio Baía, Helga Viveiros Guarda politechnikos institutas (Portugalija), Guarda CMG miesto savivaldybė (Portugalija) Santrauka Nedarbas išlieka viena didžiausių problemų įstatymų leidėjams, ypač jaunimo nedarbas. Straipsnyje aptariamos universitetą baigusio jaunimo nedarbo problemos Guar savivaldybėje, nurodomos galimos šio reiškinio priežastys ir pasekmės. Pateikiamos rekomendacijos tiems, kurie priiminėja sprendimus dėl jaunimo apgyvendinimo šiame regione, kur aktualios senėjimo ir jaunų žmonių išvykimo iš šio regiono problemos. Respondentai pildydami pateiktą klausimyną teigė, kad gauti darbą Guar savivaldybėje nelengva. Darbo pasiūla šiame regione mažėja dėl tradicinės pramonės mažėjimo ir įmonių bei žmonių iniciatyvos apsigyventi regione nebuvimo. Be to, respondentai nurodė, kad problemą padėtų spręsti greitkelių mokesčių mažinimas. Aukštojo išsilavinimo institucijos yra finansiškai ir socialiai svarbios regionams, kuriuose veikia, nes be įprasto švietimo vaidmens, jos skatina tyrimus, rengia mokymus verslo organizacijų darbuotojams, telkia bendruomenę, taip prisidėdamos prie regioninės ir vietinės plėtros. Guarda politechnikos institutas vienintelė aukštojo išsilavinimo institucija šioje savivaldybėje, vaidinanti svarbų vaidmenį sprendžiant nedarbo problemą. PAGRINDINIAI ŽODŽIAI: jaunimo nedarbas, nedarbas, depresinė aplinka. Jel Klasifikacija: J640, J620, R580 Received: Revised: Accepted:

19 ISSN (Print), ISSN (Online). Regional Formation and Development Studies, No. 1 (21) development of Beach litter monitoring on the Latvian coastline: the citizen science PERSPECTIVE Edmunds Cepurītis 1, Jānis Ulme 2, Sintija Graudiņa-Bombiza 33 University of Latvia (Latvia) ABSTRACT The research analyses the beach litter monitoring programme in Latvia and provides suggestions for its improvement seeking to provide necessary information for effective marine litter management on the Latvian coastline of the Baltic Sea. The beach litter monitoring programme has been enacted since 2012 by NGO FEE Latvia and current research has been focused on the situation assessment and particularly provides analyses on a number and distribution of the surveyed beaches, the frequency and timing of the monitoring, litter classification and counting methodology, as well as the possible programme development using the NGO work based on the citizen science approach. The results allow to elaborate several suggestions on how to improve the programme in order to provide lacking information in Latvia on the implementation of the Marine Strategy Framework directive of European Union, and to advise local municipalities in their coastal waste management practices. The suggestions include the increasing number of monitoring sites, a prioritization of the EU Master list classification protocol and an increase of sites with higher frequency of monitoring (3 times per year). Moreover, in the conducted public survey, the beach visitors demonstrated good understanding of marine litter and highly prioritized the issue. The increased interest can add public participation to further development of this applied here citizen science approach. KEYWORDS: Baltic Sea, beach litter, monitoring program, citizen science, coastal management. JEL CODES: Q52, Q57, Q58. DOI: Introduction Following the accelerated growth in the amount of waste generated by human activities, there have been a number of environmental consequences emerging as part of the waste is not properly collected and managed. One of the most significant issues is the growth of marine litter, as the solid waste enters marine environment and accumulates in beaches, seabed or in the water column (Ryan, 2015). Marine litter is associated with a number of negative economic, social and ecological consequences, especially concerning plastic waste (Gre- 1 Edmunds Cepuritis University of Latvia, Department of Environmental Science, Environmental Science Scientific interests: ecology, environmental planning edmunds.cepuritis@zemesdraugi.lv Tel Janis Ulme Foundation for Environmental Education (FEE) Latvia, Environmental and Coastal Policy Scientific interests: ecology, environmental planning janis.ulme@zemesdraugi.lv Tel Sintija Graudiņa-Bombiza University of Latvia, Department of Environmental Science, Environmental Governance and Public Participation Scientific interests: ecology, environmental planning sintija.graudina@lu.lv Tel

20 Edmunds Cepurītis, Jānis Ulme, Sintija Graudiņa-Bombiza DEVELOPMENT OF BEACH LITTER MONITORING ON THE LATVIAN COASTLINE: THE CITIZEN SCIENCE PERSPECTIVE en et al., 2015, Cozar et al., 2014, Cole, 2011) and the reduction of marine litter is one of the objectives of EU Marine Strategy Framework directive (Galgani et al., 2010). In order to evaluate the progress of achieving marine litter reduction, there is a need for initial assessment of the European seas and long term monitoring programmes. However, any monitoring of the marine litter has to overcome the complications created by high mobility of plastic litter in marine environment (Pham et al., 2014). It is one of the main reasons why litter on beaches has been used as the main indicator to assess the situation of marine litter beach litter is relatively immobile and easily accessible for monitoring activities and it is the cheapest of the available monitoring methods (Galgani et al., 2010). Further reductions in costs can be achieved by using volunteers as detecting beach litter does not require expert knowledge and even the classification of litter can sometimes be done by volunteers (OSPAR, 2009). Involvement of volunteers in scientific research has been known as citizen science approach and when properly managed it has proven to be a reliable tool for gathering high quality data (Chandler et al., 2016) and the use of citizen science has been also encouraged when monitoring litter in the European seas (Galgani et al., 2010). Additional benefit of the citizen science approach is that it has raised awareness of the specific issue among volunteers and motivated them to engage (Runnel et al., 2016). Since, the promoting co-responsibility of the marine litter issue in the public is to be considered as one of the main solutions to achieve improvements (Veiga, 2016; UNEP, 2009), the use of the citizen science approach and engagement of local communities is crucial for the marine/beach litter management. The marine/beach litter monitoring in Latvia started in 2012, when the environmental NGO Foundation for Environmental Education Latvia (FEE Latvia) established a public campaign My Sea with the aim to raise public awareness on the issue of marine litter, to fill gaps in knowledge about the situation of marine litter on the Latvian coast and to promote partnership, as well as solutions, at the local and national level. Since then, annually, under this campaign in summer time there has been conducted beach litter monitoring on the Latvian coast of the Baltic Sea in 38 locations, complemented by seasonal surveys on so called indicator beaches. The number of indicator beaches have increased from 5 in 2012 to 12 in Since 2012, each year the central public event of the campaign is the Green Expedition along the 500 km of the Latvian Baltic Sea coast, complemented with workshops and a range of public activities. This expedition gathers from 500 to 800 volunteers, who participate in beach surveys and environmental education activities, including training on marine litter issues and methodology of the beach surveys. The campaign has proved to be an efficient instrument in raising of public awareness, data gathering, and the coastal policy development work. The campaign has been awarded with several national governmental awards, including the Environmental Science Award for FEE Latvia in 2012 and the Annual Health Award in Moreover, data obtained during the campaign has become a backbone of the emerging national policies regarding marine litter in the context of implementation of the EU Marine Strategy Framework Directive, Descriptor 10, regarding the ambition to ensure Good Environmental Status for marine litter. On the basis of the campaign data, there was made quantitative analysis of the national situation and set targets for Also, the campaign data are used in the national Coastal Spatial planning for the next programming period, and also as qualification criteria for the Blue Flag certifications of the beaches. For the further national developments in the field and particularly for the supporting of the necessary additional impact on the integrated coastal governance development at the local municipal level, this citizen science based methodology of the beach litter monitoring programme on the Latvian coastline needs to be evaluated and assessed in relation to potential improvements in the beach litter management at the national and municipal level (Ulme, 2016). Consequently, this study has been initiated within the BONUS programme project A Systems Approach Framework for Coastal Research and Management in the Baltic (BaltCoast). The current and potential marine litter management overview has been prepared in the project s case territory Salacgriva municipality (Ernsteins, 2016). The purpose of the study is thus to facilitate the existing monitoring programme and its potential in the efforts to improve the municipal and national marine litter policies. Therefore, the objectives of the study are the following: to evaluate the spatial distribution of monitoring sites and the frequency of data collection; to compare the UNEP beach litter protocol currently in use to that of the EU Master List protocol; to study the views of the beach visitors; to provide an over- 20

21 ISSN (Print), ISSN (Online). Regional Formation and Development Studies, No. 1 (21) view of beach litter management in the Salacgriva municipality; to provide suggestions for improving the monitoring programme using the citizen science approach; to address the needs of beach litter management in municipalities. In order to achieve these objectives, the further presented methods were employed. For the assessment of the programme methodology the existing literature and guidelines on the beach litter monitoring programmes were reviewed. It was supplemented with analyses of the collected data for each aspect of the monitoring programme, i.e., the spatial distribution of the survey sites in relation to potential litter sources, the frequency of monitoring in relation to data variability and the litter classification systems used. Furthermore, locations of the survey sites were analysed from the perspective of the municipality borders to achieve better data density in each of them. Assessing the public perception of marine litter, a questionnaire was distributed to 400 beach visitors met on the spot. It contained 8 multiple choice questions about the perceived cleanliness of the beach, the importance of beach cleanliness relative to other factors, and a number of questions about the marine litter issue in general. In addition, there was collected data about the age and education level. All respondents were grouped according to their relation to the beach, namely, local inhabitants, local or foreign tourists, and representatives from municipalities. 1. Spatial distribution of monitoring survey locations There is relatively good agreement on the basic principles of selecting the sites for beach litter. Most of these principles follow from international monitoring guidelines developed by UNEP in 2009 (Cheshire et al., 2009). As shown on Table 1, most of the principles regarding the site selection have been followed in the analysed beach litter monitoring along the Latvian coastline. Table 1. Criteria of selecting the sites for the survey in Latvian monitoring programme compared to the guidelines of UNEP and EU Criteria Implementation in the monitoring programme Compatibility UNEP EU Beach type Consisting of sand or gravel, with a slope of 15 to yes yes 45 degrees Number of sites 38 (on average every 14 km of the coastline) not specified not specified Frequency of monitoring annual yes yes Total time for surveying all the sites 40 days partially no Width of the survey site 100 m yes yes Boundaries of the survey site From the coast to the first permanent vegetation yes yes Collection of the surveyed litter All litter is collected and removed from the beach yes yes Information about local waste collection activities No information is collected partially partially Representation of different dominant Sites are diverse, but mostly selected at beaches used partially partially sources of waste in recreation Source: MARLIN, 2013; Cheshire et al., 2013; MSFD GES Technical Subgroup on Marine Litter, As the guidelines of UNEP and EU are made to be similar and comparable, the main deviations from them in the Latvian monitoring programme are the same there is little reliable information available about the waste collection activities performed by municipalities and local actors (due to lack of such information in most municipalities), as well as the problem with representation as there are relatively few beaches surveyed that would have almost no impacts from visitors, although, there are many beaches on the Latvian coastline with very few visitors. Another difference from the both protocols is a relatively long period of investigation of all the sites. Yet the possibilities to adjust the selected survey sites are discussed in the following subsections. 21

22 Edmunds Cepurītis, Jānis Ulme, Sintija Graudiņa-Bombiza DEVELOPMENT OF BEACH LITTER MONITORING ON THE LATVIAN COASTLINE: THE CITIZEN SCIENCE PERSPECTIVE 1.1. Assessing the relevant conditions for representation The amount of litter on the beach can provide useful information about the total flows of litter in the marine environment (Ryan et al., 2009). The solid waste enters the sea from different sources mostly from shipping, cities and leftovers from beach visitors (Barnes et al., 2009). Another significant source of litter on beaches are large rivers (Rech et al., 2014; Gasperi et al., 2014). Because adjacent beaches can give information about the relative impacts of these sources, the survey sites of the monitoring programme were assessed based on the main sources. All 38 survey sites were assessed using the data about cities, towns and mouths of large rivers in direct vicinities, as well as a number of visitors (Grupa 93, 2015) on each beach. The data was used to create subgroups of the survey sites, namely: beaches with low, average or high number of visitors, and beaches within towns and cities with a population larger than inhabitants (Liepaja, Ventspils, Jurmala, and Riga). Next, these groups were evaluated based on the results of litter items and types found within each of them during a four-year period of marine litter monitoring on the Latvian coastline of the Baltic Sea. Since the grouping was performed according to different criteria, the same beach might appear in three different groups. This resulted in overlapping, as most visited beaches were located near the cities, and all, except one, was near the mouth of the river, i.e., also in a vicinity of a city. Therefore, it was not easy to evaluate the impact of the factors of cities and rivers on litter input. The validity of differentiating such groups was assessed using the data of litter items found in each of them during the beach litter monitoring during the period It was noted that there is a large heterogeneity of all variables among all the groups, but there were still noticeable differences among the groups created. By analysing the total number of litter items found along the 100 m stretch of the beach, it was predictably found that the beaches with the least number of visitors had the least amount of litter found on them; the average in the group of beaches with a low number of visitors was 10% lower than the average of all beaches, but in the frequently visited beaches it was 27% above the average (Figure 1). Figure 1. Average number of litter items found within 100 m of each group of the beaches during period Source: FEE Latvia, 2016a. 22

23 ISSN (Print), ISSN (Online). Regional Formation and Development Studies, No. 1 (21) As it can be seen, there is very high variability of data among all the groups. This is mostly due to the general variability of the amount of litter found on beaches (Ryan, 2014, Schulz et al., 2015) and most of the monitored beaches show very different amounts of items found every year. As the goal of this article is just to detect the differences of the classes, but not to determine statistical significance of these differences, most of the analyses are presented visually by the graphs. To get a denser data set, all the data entries about the beaches with different visitor pressures were selected for each year of the period. At the same time, this also increased the role of extreme values caused by a few extreme events of litter monitoring that did not allow for objective comparison. To avoid this, the extreme values of litter items were dropped using the following three criteria: (1) the recorded amount of litter units was larger than 400; (2) the amount of litter recorded was many times larger than the previous records; (3) units were from a class of waste that is immobile (steel, concrete, glass) and were unlikely to disperse along all the length of a beach. These criteria were set in order to exclude cases of extreme values of litter items being recorded due to some unique condition (such as many small items in one place, etc.) rather than consistent trend. The results before and after the exclusion of extreme values are presented in Figure 2. What is obvious from the graphs that although the data points are largely overlapping with all of the groups, the intervals they are covering are slightly different this does indicate that the division into these groups is meaningful as the specific coastline tends to show different values of litter items depending on the amount of visitors it receives. Because of that, it would be important to include into analysis beaches from different categories of this indicator in order to more accurately assess the total litter loads on the specific coastline, at the national or municipal level. Figure 2. All annual records of litter items found within 100 m of each group of beaches during On the left all records, on the right records excluding extreme values Source: FEE Latvia, 2016a. 23

24 Edmunds Cepurītis, Jānis Ulme, Sintija Graudiņa-Bombiza DEVELOPMENT OF BEACH LITTER MONITORING ON THE LATVIAN COASTLINE: THE CITIZEN SCIENCE PERSPECTIVE To assess the usefulness of the other groups, more indicators were evaluated. The percentage of the plastic waste in the total amount of beach litter was assessed, as the plastic waste at the same time has the most devastating environmental impacts (Cole, 2011; ARCADIS, 2013; UNEP, 2016) and a different pattern of distribution due to its durability and low weight (Pham et al., 2014; Jambeck et al., 2015). Figure 3. Average percentage of plastic in all litter recorded in beaches during Source: FEE Latvia, 2016a. Similarly, the percentage of litter from different sources was assessed. The main sources of marine litter that can be distinguished after the classification of litter items are land based litter and sea based litter (OSPAR, 2009; MSFD GES Technical Subgroup on Marine Litter, 2013). The third group consists of items of unidentifiable source, i.e., it could belong to each of the two previous groups. Figure 4. Average percentage of land based litter (on the left) and sea based litter (on the right) in all litter recorded on beaches during Source: FEE Latvia, 2016a. 24

25 ISSN (Print), ISSN (Online). Regional Formation and Development Studies, No. 1 (21) In the Baltic Sea, the land based sources dominate the composition of marine litter (MARLIN, 2012). This is explained largely by the generally better management system developed in the Baltic Sea region regarding the shipping waste, as most ports are well equipped to receive litter loads from ships when they arrive. Analysing the results of the land based sources and the sea based sources in Figure 4, the created groups were assessed by the percentage of each of them (percentage of items from unidentifiable source is not presented). As expected, the percentage of the land based litter mostly from tourism increases with the number of visitors the beach receives. However, due to heterogeneity of data any differences among the groups are smaller than those within the groups Assessment of representativeness of the survey sites It was concluded from this analysis that the number of visitors is an important variable to take into account for the representation of the beaches in the specific area, as the adjacency to rivers or large rivers also appeared to be important; although, it could not be sufficiently confirmed due to overlapping of categories and data variability. The group of beaches in smaller towns was not assumed to be important as its impact seemed to be mostly related to the number of visitors. Since the groups of beaches with a different number of visitors showed differing amounts and compositions of waste found in the survey sites, therefore, it was analysed if various levels of visitor numbers were represented well enough in the survey sites selection. It was concluded that nationally there was a need for more sites, which are less popular among visitors, as this group was underrepresented. There is also a need to monitor less visited beaches in cities and beaches adjacent to rivers, because such beaches exist (Grupa 93, 2015) and can give valuable information about specific impacts of these additional sources. There are 17 municipalities, both rural and urban, sharing the Latvian coastline within their territories. These municipalities were evaluated based on the number of the survey sites and the groups of beaches with a different number of visitors included. The municipal evaluation was carried out acknowledging the significance of the local policies in combating the problem of marine litter (Oosterhuis et al., 2014; MARLIN, 2013). Five of 17 municipalities were marked as having insufficient representation and in need for improvements due to lack of the survey sites or lack of representation of the different beache types within the coastline of the municipality; nine were marked as having sufficient representation and only three were evaluated as having good representation according to the conditions found on the beaches within the municipality areas. The most common problem was a lack of rarely visited beaches to be included in the monitoring programme, yet the municipality had a large number of such beaches. Only one of all 17 municipalities, had a problem with monitoring density Grobina parish that did not have a single survey site included in the monitoring programme within its 5 km of the coastline. The lack of rarely visited beaches was found to be a problem on a national scale as well. Moreover, the Eco-Schools network was included in the research as a potential supporting network for citizen science activities. The educational institutions within 10 km of the coast that are part of the Eco-Schools programme have been mapped in Figure 5 together with the survey sites. There are 18 such institutions, mainly in the cities of Riga, Liepāja and Ventspils. Sixteen schools are located in close proximity of the existing monitoring sites, while two are near the coastline further from the existing sites. 25

26 Edmunds Cepurītis, Jānis Ulme, Sintija Graudiņa-Bombiza DEVELOPMENT OF BEACH LITTER MONITORING ON THE LATVIAN COASTLINE: THE CITIZEN SCIENCE PERSPECTIVE Figure 5. Number and distribution of monitoring sites within the municipalities along 500 km coastline in Latvia Source: FEE Latvia, 2016a; FEE Latvia, 2016b. The prospect of educational value of engaging schools in these activities (Veiga, 2016) and the possible improvements in the monitoring frequency suggest to set the possible additional survey sites in the proximity of these schools. 2. Frequency of the monitoring One of the most significant problems of the current monitoring programme is that the surveys are performed every year but only in the summer. This contradicts to the suggestions of the EU guidelines that recommend monitoring the sites three times per year, i.e., every season except winter (MSFD GES Technical Subgroup on Marine Litter, 2013). There were 5 locations along the Latvian coastline where additional monitoring was performed in the spring and autumn season, and in 2016 the number of seasonal monitoring increased to 12 sites. However, to evaluate the possible loss of information because of concentrating only on the summer season, the yearly trend of litter amount was analysed in these locations using the normalized litter data from 2012 to 2015 in each season as the percentage of the total recorded annual litter amount (Figure 6). 26

27 ISSN (Print), ISSN (Online). Regional Formation and Development Studies, No. 1 (21) Figure 6. Seasonal litter distribution in five monitoring locations in Latvia as percentage of annual litter amount recorded in each location during Source: FEE Latvia, 2016a. It can be seen that in the summer season the amount of litter on average is the lowest showing almost half of the amount of litter found in the autumn. This has been proposed to be a consequence of more clean-up activities that take place at the same time as there are much more tourism activities in the summer season. However, the selected survey sites do not include beaches with a lower number of visitors, therefore the trends cannot be generalized across the country. 3. Litter classification system The current monitoring programme is based on UNEP guidelines developed in 2009 (Cheshire et al., 2009) and is only partially compatible with the guidelines developed by the EU (MSFD GES Technical Subgroup on Marine Litter, 2013). In order to decide which litter classification system to use, both guidelines were compared and evaluated based on the data gathered on each litter class during the last four years. Both classification systems were developed to make it easy to compare the data classified using the other system. Fortunately, there has been much effort to make all international litter monitoring classifications comparable since the system was developed in the North Atlantic region in 2007 (OSPAR, 2007). The EU Master List is the most recent international classification system and there are 20 classes of litter that overlap with the classes used by UNEP, separating them in smaller sections. To evaluate if such separation is useful, the number of items found in these classes had been counted for the Latvian coastline since 2012 (Table 2). The analysis of the new reclassification provided by the EU Master List suggests that it is a more sophisticated system, which concentrates on the most often found items to further clarify their type, and it can be helpful in the more precise sourcing of items without too many obscure classes with rarely found items. Furthermore, some classes of litter items present on the UNEP list have been excluded as they have never been found on the Latvian coastline and there have added 44 new classes many of which seem to be necessary (especially plastic pieces as a separate category, as it is the most often found item in the Baltic Sea), whereas some of them are not relevant to the Latvian coastline as well (e.g., specific aquaculture). 27

28 Edmunds Cepurītis, Jānis Ulme, Sintija Graudiņa-Bombiza DEVELOPMENT OF BEACH LITTER MONITORING ON THE LATVIAN COASTLINE: THE CITIZEN SCIENCE PERSPECTIVE Part of all items, % Table 2. The comparison of UNEP and EU Master List litter classification in the overlapping classes Total number of items found UNEP EU Master List code item item code 8.4% 2094 PL07 Plastic bags (opaque and Small plastic bags incl. pieces G4 clear) Shopping Bags incl. pieces G3 6.5% 1624 PC03 Cups, food trays, food Cups, food trays, food wrappers, G153 wrappers, cigarette packs, drink containers drink containers Cigarette packets G152 Cartons/Tetra pack (others) G151 Cartons/Tetra pack (Milk) G % 1536 PL19 Rope String and cord (diameter < 1cm) G50 Rope (diameter > 1cm) G49 5% 1253 PL01 Bottle caps and lids Plastic rings from bottle caps/lids G24 Plastic caps/lids unidentified G23 Plastic caps/lids chemicals, G22 detergents (non-food) Plastic caps/lids drinks G21 1.9% 465 PL06 Food containers (fast food, Cups and cup lids G33 cups, lunch boxes and similar) Food containers incl. fast food G10 containers 1.8% 462 ME10 Other (specify), including Other metal pieces > 50 cm G199 appliances Other metal pieces < 50 cm G198 Industrial scrap G % 308 PL04 Knives, forks, spoons, Straws and stirrers G35 straws, stirrers, (cutlery) Cutlery and trays G34 Source: FEE Latvia, 2016a; Cheshire et al., 2009; MSFD GES Technical Subgroup on Marine Litter, Public perception of beach litter The results of the on-spot survey indicate that half of the respondents, i.e., beach visitors met on the coast, do perceive the Latvian coastline and beaches as clean or very clean. The analysis showed that these rankings do not have a direct connection to the results of the beach litter surveys on the local level, which leads to the conclusion that evaluation of beach cleanliness is based on the range of other factors. Nevertheless, the cleanliness of a beach is among the leading factors for people choosing their coastal destinations, together with beach accessibility and its location. Visitors of the Latvian beaches give the beach infrastructure (restaurants, children playground, beach patrol) much lower priority when choosing their recreation destination. When asked to identify, which marine litter fractions are the most problematic, respondents identified plastic items mainly, together with glass and cigarette butts. Plastic was mentioned twice as much as the next following fraction. Accordingly, it corresponds to the data about the beach litter situation in Latvia, where plastic litter constitutes more than half of litter found on the beaches. As for potential sources of litter on the beaches overwhelming the majority, the respondents identified tourists / beach visitors (the main source), then followed illegal waste dumping on the coastal zone and the impact of sea transportation. It indicates a very good understanding on the topic, as visitors are clearly responsible for majority of littering as the monitoring data indicate. Most of the respondents ranked the marine litter impact on the sea ecosystem as the main concern for them. Furthermore, the impacts on human safety, health and water quality were identified, pointing out marine litter also as an aesthetical problem. However, economic impact as an important one was mentioned very rarely, indicating that people do not understand the connection between marine litter and increasing costs for 28

29 ISSN (Print), ISSN (Online). Regional Formation and Development Studies, No. 1 (21) coastal and waste management, as well as with other economic impacts like decreasing tourism value of the coastal destination. The main responsibility according to the survey results lies on the beach visitors themselves, then on the municipalities and their failures in beach management. Most of the respondents do not link the state or international policy with everyday situation on the beach. Similarly, regarding the possible tools necessary to enhance the situation, the most frequent and the highest ranked response was raising of public awareness, followed by the improvement of beach infrastructure and beach management. 5. Beach litter case territory: Salacgriva municipality The Salacgriva municipality (covers 55 km of various type of coastline, which is 10% of the Latvia s whole coastline) was studied in detail seeking to assess the existing monitoring problems and their relation to local level management so that to propose more detailed solutions based on the local conditions. There are four beach litter monitoring sites in Salacgriva municipality. Three of them are highly visited by tourists, and two of them are remote but popular resorts, while the third site is a beach in the vicinity of the capital town and port. The fourth beach has an average number of visitors. In the long term trend, all Salacgriva municipality s beaches under monitoring, on average indicated, an increase in beach litter amounts (only in one of the four beaches the litter items decreased). The average amount of litter is 205 items per 100 meters of the monitoring site beach, which is higher than the national average of 130 units. Considering the relatively low population density, tourism is assumed to be one of the main reasons for higher levels of litter. However, the comparison among other municipalities cannot be directly made as none of the four monitoring sites is located within the less visited remote beaches. An approximate estimation of litter amounts during the expedition indicates that for the most part of the Salacgriva municipality coastline, the litter loads are far below the national average. Due to the lack of representation, it was suggested to change/add one of the survey sites to a remote beach with appropriate conditions (the municipality s coast consists largely of rocky shores (also coastal meadows) not suitable for litter monitoring). The inclusion of such a particular beach would allow to approximate to beach litter trends in the largest part of the municipality s coastline. The majority of litter items collected on all of the beaches are related to tourism and household sources from 60% to 80%, while the dominant item was plastic pieces, similar to all other coastal regions. Overall, the data indicates a generally worse situation in those selected monitoring sites of municipality than on the average Latvian coast despite the relatively low number of seaside towns, villages and other local litter sources present there. However, shall be also noted, that current international beach litter monitoring methodology, as both by limited number/location of monitoring sites and by monitoring done mostly only during annual coastal campaign/marsh occasion, need to be expanded and/or complemented by other forms/types of municipal/public monitoring. Clearly next stages of science-public-municipal projects/partnerships shall be further encouraged. For example, to address the potentially most significant local litter source, namely tourists from other municipalities, a more active engagement of local inhabitants and decision makers in protection of the beach might be beneficial; simple information signs discouraging from littering have proved to be very beneficial in reducing litter amounts in the United Kingdom (Risk and policy analysts Ltd., 2013). As mentioned before, widening of the citizen science type applications is one of the possible ways not only to engage local people and achieve more monitoring results, but really to have more impact on the municipal coastal management. In Salacgriva municipality, there is only one Eco-School, located in Salacgriva town that could act as a local coordination centre and help gather more regular monitoring data for to uncover seasonal variation in litter amounts. But instead, there are several non-traditional or even pioneering bottomup governance activities (e.g. local village development NGO s, village elders, youth/ngo based consultation council at the municipality), which can definitely contribute to this and other type of coastal monitoring. Furthermore, the project system Adopt a Beach might be implemented, where a certain group of people in a 29

30 Edmunds Cepurītis, Jānis Ulme, Sintija Graudiņa-Bombiza DEVELOPMENT OF BEACH LITTER MONITORING ON THE LATVIAN COASTLINE: THE CITIZEN SCIENCE PERSPECTIVE certain stretch of the beach could take responsibility for clean-up and litter monitoring actions. In dialogue with local activist groups and organizations a more remote beach might be selected as a new monitoring site where data are gathered during the clean-ups. However, the validity of data should be evaluated, to avoid possible misinterpretations of the methodology. Yet the most important issue for any local public monitoring is to have direct application of data in decision making at the local municipality, which requires not only involvement of various local stakeholders, but also collaboration between them and the municipality itself. This is an issue for the whole Latvian coastline to be further developed. Conclusions The comparison of the two waste classification systems showed that the EU Master List is much more adjusted to the situation in the Baltic Sea, as it has more detailed evaluation of 35% of litter items most frequently found on the Latvian coastline than is provided by the UNEP classification system. While some of the waste classes are not relevant to the Baltic Sea and possibly are included because of their prevalence in the other European seas, they can be excluded from the field protocol. Analysing the conditions of the survey sites and their impact on the litter categories it was found that the groups of different number of visitors were very diverse, while the groups of beaches with nearby rivers, towns or cities did not show visible differences. High heterogeneity of data and different municipal approaches and routines regarding the coastal management was a problem evaluating the impact of these factors as application of statistical methods is complicated with a small number of data; it has been noted in other research too. However, the beaches with different number of visitors have enough important differences to take the number of visitors as one of the factors representing the survey sites as specific locations. It was also concluded that significant changes were necessary in distributing the monitoring sites so that to represent conditions in each municipality. In most cases no new monitoring sites were required, except for some sites, located on beaches with a higher number of visitors that might be replaced with those of a lower number of people visiting them. This could also help to assess better the conditions on the whole coastline. The beach visitors survey demonstrates the generally well-informed perception on beach/marine litter, which is also seen as a significant determinant of beach attractiveness for most people. The dominant opinion is that the main responsibility in solving the issue lies on each individual, rather than on collective actions of the municipality or government. At the same time the rising public awareness was indicated as the main course of action as the majority of people supports campaigns and other communication by the decisionmakers. The overview of the potential support network to be provided by the Eco-Schools programme in Latvia showed that the frequency of monitoring in 10 beach sites could be easily increased as there are Eco-schools near to the sites. Also, in Latvia there is valuable experience in organizing local/regional school networks for public monitoring of nature; the application of the BaltCoast project s science-policy-practice interface proposes to elaborate the necessary programming means for new developments, particularly on coastal monitoring. This could also encourage the formal process of school education through engaging students and teachers in the citizen science practice, providing necessary data about changes in the amount of local coastal waste during different seasons, without much of other resources required. In a more detailed evaluation of the Salacgriva municipality, many potential synergic benefits were found in relation to improvement in data quality and the reduction of beach litter. However, the actual results of the proposed actions on engaging the local community through Eco-Schools, the local/village NGO s and other organizations need to be further assessed and tested on the next project steps, in order to make conclusions 30

31 ISSN (Print), ISSN (Online). Regional Formation and Development Studies, No. 1 (21) and particular recommendations about their various impact on the beach litter management and the municipal coastal management in general. After these methodological and public participatory changes are made, the existing beach litter monitoring system in Latvia, based on the citizen science approach, can provide valuable information for decision making at the municipal, national and the European level even more efficiently and trustworthy. However, still local stakeholders collaboration enhancement shall be stressed in order to reach mandatory precondition of any monitoring type work success (compare to nature observation approach etc.) real and regular usage of monitoring data for municipal coastal policy development and management practice. The study and the paper have been prepared with the financial support of the BONUS programme project A Systems Approach Framework for Coastal Research and Management in the Baltic (BaltCoast). References ARCADIS. (2013). Marine Litter Study to Support the Establishment of an Initial Quantitative Headline Reduction Target sfra0025. Final report. Barnes, D. K., Galgani, F., Thompson, R. C. (2009). Accumulation and Fragmentation of Plastic Debris in Global Environments. Philosophical transactions of the Royal Society Series B. Biological Sciences, Vol. 364(1526), p Chandler, M., Rullman, S., Cousins, J., et al. (2016). Contributions to Publications and Management Plans from 7 Years of Citizen Science: Use of a Novel Evaluation Tool on Earthwatch-supported Projects. Biological Conservation, p Cole, M. (2011). Microplastics as Contaminants in the Marine Environment: A Review. Marine Pollution Bulletin, Vol. 62(12), p Cheshire, A. C., Adler, E., Barbière, J., et al. (2009). UNEP/IOC Guidelines on Survey and Monitoring of Marine Litter. UNEP Regional Seas Reports and Studies, No. 186; IOC Technical Series, No. 83, p Ernsteins, R., Lagzdina, E., Lapinskis, J., Lontone, A., Kaulins, J., Kudreneckis, I. (2016). Coastal resources understanding and local governance development: socio-ecological system and indicators pre-requisite. International Baltic Earth Science publication series No.9, p FEE Latvia, (2016a). Latvian Coastline Monitoring Programme data (in Latvian, unpublished). FEE Latvia, (2016b). Database of the Eco-Schools programme (in Latvian, unpublished). Gasperi, J. (2014). Assessment of Floating Plastic Debris in Surface Water along the Seine River. Environmental Pollution, No. 195, p Galgani, F., Fleet, D., Franeker, J. et al. (2010). Marine Strategy Framework Directive, Task Group 10 Report: Marine Litter. JRC Scientific & Technical Reports, p. 47. Grupa 93. (2015). Anthropogenic Pressures in the Coastline (in Latvian, unpublished). Green, D. S., Boots, B., Blockley, D. J., Rocha, C., Thompson, R. C. (2015). Impacts of Discarded Plastic Bags on Marine Assemblages and Ecosystem Functioning. Environmental Science and Technology, No. 49, p Jambeck, J. R., Geyer, R., Wilcox, K., et al. (2015). Plastic Waste Inputs from Land into the Ocean. Science, No. 347, p MARLIN. (2013). Final Report of Baltic Marine Litter Project MARLIN. MSFD GES Technical Subgroup on Marine Litter (2013). Guidance on Monitoring of Marine Litter in European Seas. Luxembourg: Publications Office of the EU. Oosterhuis, F., Papyrakis, E., Boteler, B. (2014). Economic Instruments and Marine Litter Control. Ocean & Coastal Management, No. 102, p OSPAR. (2007). OSPAR Pilot Project on Monitoring Marine Beach Litter. Monitoring Marine Litter in the OSPAR Region. OSPAR Commission. OSPAR. (2009). Marine Litter in the North-East Atlantic Region: Assessment and Priorities for Response. London, United Kingdom, p Pham, C. K., Ramirez-Llodra, E., et al. (2014). Marine Litter Distribution and Density in European Seas, from the Shelves to Deep Basins. PLOS ONE, Vol. 9(4). Rech, S., Macaya-Caquilpan, V. et al. (2014). Rivers as a Source of Marine Litter a Study from the SE Pacific. Marine Pollution Bulletin, Vol. 82(1 2), p

32 Edmunds Cepurītis, Jānis Ulme, Sintija Graudiņa-Bombiza DEVELOPMENT OF BEACH LITTER MONITORING ON THE LATVIAN COASTLINE: THE CITIZEN SCIENCE PERSPECTIVE Risk & Policy Analysts Ltd. (2013). Case study comparing different packages of measures targeted at a particular location: beach litter. (unpublished) Ryan, P. G. (2014). The Effect of Fine-scale Sampling Frequency on Estimates of Beach Litter Accumulation. Marine Pollution Bulletin, Vol. 88(1 2), p Ryan, P. G., Moore, C. J. et al. (2009). Monitoring the Abundance of Plastic Debris in the Marine Environment. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological sciences, Vol. 364(1526), p Ryan, P. G. (2015). A Brief History of Marine Litter Research. In: M. Bergmann, L. Gutow & M. Klages, M. Bergmann, et al. (eds.). Marine Anthropogenic Litter. Springer International Publishing, p Runnel, V., Wetzel, F. T., et al. (2016). Summary Report and Strategy Recommendations for EU Citizen Science Gateway for Biodiversity Data. Research Ideas and Outcomes 2: e Schulz, M. (2015). Statistical Analyses of the Results of 25 Years of Beach Litter Surveys on the South-Eastern North Sea Coast. Marine Environmental Research, No. 109, p Ulme, J., Ernsteins, R., Graudina-Bombiza, S., Kaulins, J., Brizga, J. (2017). Marine litter monitoring for coastal management indicator system development: citizen science and collaboration communication approach. In: J. Baztan, et al eds. Fate and Impact of Microplastics in Marine Ecosystems. From the Coastline to the Open Sea, Elsevier, p UNEP. (2016). Marine plastic debris and micro plastics Global lessons and research to inspire action and guide policy change. United Nations Environment Program. Nairobi. UNEP. (2009). Marine Litter: A Global Challenge. Nairobi. Veiga, J. M. (2016). Enhancing Public Awareness and Promoting Co-responsibility for Marine Litter in Europe: The Challenge of MARLISCO. Marine Pollution Bulletin, Vol. 92(1 2), p PAPLŪDIMIŲ TARŠOS STEBĖJIMAS LATVIJOS PAKRANTĖJE: PILIEČIŲ POŽIŪRIS Edmunds Cepurītis, Jānis Ulme, Sintija Graudiņa-Bombiza Latvijos universitetas (Latvija) Santrauka Moksliniame straipsnyje, atlikus tyrimą, pateikiama paplūdimio stebėsenos programa Latvijoje. Autoriai teikia pasiūlymus, kaip ją tobulinti, pateikdami tyrimo duomenis, kurių reikia, siekiant veiksmingai tvarkyti Latvijos pakrantėse, prie Baltijos jūros, iš jūros išmetamas šiukšles. Paplūdimio taršos stebėsenos programa priimta 2012 metais nevyriausybinės organizacijos FEE Latvija, atlikti moksliniai tyrimai buvo nukreipti į situacijos įvertinimą. Ypač daug dėmesio skirta tiriamų paplūdimių analizei: jų skaičiaus, pasiskirstymo, stebėjimų laikotarpio bei dažnumo, taršos klasifikavimo ir skaičiavimo metodikai, galimam piliečių dalyvavimui šiame procese. Tyrimo rezultatai leido parengti keletą pasiūlymų, kaip pagerinti Latvijoje vykdomą programą, siekiant, kad ji atitiktų esamą Jūrų strategijos pagrindu parengtą direktyvą Europos Sąjungoje, ir būtų galima patarti pakrančių regionų valdžios institucijoms pakrančių taršos tvarkymo klausimais. Pasiūlymai apima stebėsenos vietų skaičius didinimą, rekomenduojant patobulinti ir ES nustatytus klasifikatorius, siekiant padidinti vietų, kur būtų atliekami tyrimai dėl į jūrą išmetamų šiukšlių, skaičių, pažymima, kad stebėsena turėtų vykti dažniau (3 kartus per metus). Atlikus viešą apklausą paaiškėjo, kad paplūdimių lankytojai gerai supranta jūros taršos problemas, suvokia jų svarbą. Būtina skatinti aktyvią piliečių paramą, vykdant tokius tyrimus. Detalesnė Salacgriva regiono apžvalga atskleidė potencialią sinergiją: nustatyta, kad kuo daugiau savanoriškai nusiteikę piliečiai surenka 32

33 ISSN (Print), ISSN (Online). Regional Formation and Development Studies, No. 1 (21) šiukšlių paplūdimiuose ar jų atneša tyrėjams, tuo švaresni tampa paplūdimiai. Tačiau pasiūlytų vietinės bendruomenės įtraukimo būdų (ekologinės mokyklos, vietinės nevyriausybinės organizacijos) ir faktinės naudos tarpusavio ryšį dar būtina tirti kituose projekto etapuose, siekiant pateikti konkrečias išvadas ir rekomendacijas dėl paplūdimių taršos valdymo bei vietinių pakrančių savivaldybių įtraukimo į šių problemų sprendimą. Tyrimai ir šis straipsnis parengti BONUS programos projekto Pakrančių tyrimų ir valdymo sistemos sandaros metodas Baltijos jūros regione lėšomis (BaltCoast). PAGRINDINIAI ŽODŽIAI: Baltijos jūra, paplūdimio tarša, stebėjimo programa, nevyriausybinės organizacijos, pakrančių valdymas. JEL KODAI: Q52, Q57, Q58 Received: Revised: Accepted:

34 Asta Fominienė, Viktorija Grigaitienė ASSESSMENT OF THE FEASIBILITY TO IMPROVE BUSINESS INCUBATION PROCESSES ASSESSMENT OF THE FEASIBILITY TO IMPROVE BUSINESS INCUBATION PROCESSES Asta Fominienė 1, Viktorija Grigaitienė 2 Vilnius University (Lithuania) ABSTRACT As competition is becoming more and more pronounced, the market entry for newly established companies is a complex task. This process becomes even more complicated if a company is small, because it has to deal not only with lack of experience, but also with a lack of funds. Business incubators have been spreading all over the world for more than half a century. It suggests that this type of sponsorship of small and medium business will be relevant in the next decade and continuous research in this field will help to provide optimal support for companies. KEYWORDS: small and medium business, business incubators, business incubation processes. JEL CODES: M10, M13 DOI: Introduction Despite the fact that over the past two decades business incubation processes have been extensively studied by numerous foreign authors, however, in Lithuania this field of research has not attracted much attention and there are only few scientific publications. A. Fominienė (2010) evaluated the processes of business incubation and identified improvement capabilities for business incubators (proposed the possible classification of business incubators according to the level of development). The study showed that after 10 years of activity all Lithuanian business incubators can be attributed only to the first generation type of business incubators, which activities are focused on the rent of premises and equipment or office services for newly established enterprises. For this reason, it is necessary to create favourable conditions to the Lithuanian business incubators to evolve to the next generation incubators, which could offer a wider spectrum of development opportunities for business. J. Karalevičienė and L. Kušleikienė (2011) conducted a study with an objective to analyse the peculiarities of business incubation in Lithuania. A. Fominienė and J. Mackevičius (2012) examined the definitions which are encountered in different scientific sources and concluded that business incubators can be defined as organizations that provide comprehensive support for newly created or still emerging enterprises and which facilitate their successful development and integration into the competitive market. Moreover, these authors proposed the financial indicators system for the assessment of business incubators performance. M. Kučinskienė and A. Fominienė (2015) analysed public services for business which included business incubation and the com- 1 Asta Fominienė Vilnius University, Faculty of Economics, Business Department Scientific interest: SME, support of business, international business asta.fominiene@ef.vu.lt 2 Viktorija Grigaitienė Vilnius University, Faculty of Economics, Business Department Scientific interest: business incubation, business processes viktorija.grigaitiene@ef.vu.lt 34

35 ISSN (Print), ISSN (Online). Regional Formation and Development Studies, No. 1 (21) plex performance measurement methodology. J. Černevičiūtė and R. Strazdas (2014) examined the role of art incubators in the development of system innovations. A foreign study by J. Brooneel, T. Ratihno, B. Clarysse, and A. Groen (2011) suggested a classification of business incubators into three groups depending on their provided services. D. Patton, L. Warren, and D. Bream (2009) conducted a study in which they investigated the key factors that promote a successful incubation in the technological business incubators, although S. Stephens and G. Onofrei (2012) claim that the evaluation of business incubation processes by tangible indicators is not entirely complete. The authors introduced their methodology which is focused on the analysis of two types of indicators: hard measures and soft measures. Assessment criteria which can be strictly measured are assigned to hard measures (i.e., provided space, profitability or pace of development), whereas not clearly defined criteria or hardly measurable parameters are assigned to soft measures (i.e., skills, confidence or professionalism). The problem of the research. In 2005 there were 7 business incubators in Lithuania, however, to this day only four of them have been still operating. Therefore, research in this field is relevant. In order to ensure the smooth development of business incubators we have to investigate business incubation processes, the quality of provided services and their practical benefit to the incubated companies and to see the opportunities for the process improvement. The purpose of this paper is to assess the feasibility to improve business incubation processes in Lithuania. The methods of the research: systematic and comparative analysis of scientific literature, data collection using questionnaires for interviewing the heads of business incubators and incubating firms. 1. The theoretical background of business incubation processes Business processes are the sum of all performed steps or tasks that provides a particular product or service to the market. The improvement of processes is a logical sequence of tasks, which includes the identification of processes, analysis and development (Holtzman, 2011). There are a lot of articles related to the development of business processes, however, none of them offers a consistent improvement methodology. For the improvement of business incubation processes we have to take into account the incubator s specific goals. Furthermore, each process of the incubator (services) must be evaluated based on the individual scale. In order to determine the opportunities for the improvement of business incubators, it is necessary to identify the key processes, which have the major influence on the incubator s performance. A successfully operating business is the product of business incubator, however, the self-maintenance is also an important issue for every business incubator. Therefore, the same models of process architecture used for the usual enterprise can be applied for the business incubator as well. On the other hand, the incubator s processes can be seen as the value chain framework. M. Jones (2010) points out that an innovative value-chain model allows to link all the processes into one incubation cycle. The incubation process usually begins from the establishment of a company and ends when the company is able to operate independently. It must be noted that, in spite of the fact that different scientific papers (Fominienė, Kučinskienė, 2010a; Manan, 2000; Benchmarking of Business Incubators, 2002; Jones, 2010) describe incubation slightly differently, but usually all the processes can be divided into three stages: 1. Pre-incubation. At this stage it is important to ensure the proper selection of companies which are going to be incubated. The uniqueness of business idea, growth prospects, and the innovation must be evaluated. 2. Incubation (classical incubation). This stage lasts for three years and provides funding, mentoring services as well as all types of training. The business incubator must ensure the cooperation, support, and active participation of the companies in the incubation process. 35

36 Asta Fominienė, Viktorija Grigaitienė ASSESSMENT OF THE FEASIBILITY TO IMPROVE BUSINESS INCUBATION PROCESSES 3. Development stage (after incubation). This step is related to the activities that are carried out when the company reaches a mature stage (leaves the business incubator) and is ready to operate independently. Classical incubation is complete after reaching the objectives or after the expiry of the funding. In our case, it is appropriate to state that if an enterprise is the product of the business incubator, then all business incubator s services can be treated as the incubating processes. In the literature (Kučinskienė, Fominienė, 2010a; Деменко, 2013; Сартисон, 2013) incubating processes are widely examined and can be divided differently. To summarise, it is reasonable to divide all business incubators services into three groups: 1) services which help to reduce expenses for a company; 2) consulting and training services; 3) assistance in establishing business relations. It is worth to emphasise, that in order to achieve the optimal performance of a business incubator it is necessary to balance all the services for the synergistic effect. Figure 1. The model for improvement and assessment of business incubation processes In this study the authors suggest the business incubation assessment model. All the processes are presented as a consistent process chain which is divided into the three main groups (Figure 1): 1) Pre-incubation processes: enterprise selection, trainings, business planning, and market research. 2) Incubation processes: consulting, office and/or equipment rent, entrepreneurship training, innovation for development, financing search assistance, virtual incubation, and the formation of the bonds with other companies and/or business incubators. Rarely business incubator provides all of these services, therefore, depending on the provided services we can estimate the transformation (growth) level of the incubator. This model for the classification of business incubators is based on the transformation model (Fominienė, 2010), which emphasises that the degree of development of business incubators depends on the complexity of the provided services. In our suggested model business incubators of the first generation provide only material services (usually rental services). If a business incubator also provides non-material support (i.e., consulting, entrepreneurial training, financing search assistance) then it can be classified as the second generation business incubator. The incubators of the third generation type are focused on specialised activities like innovation for development or virtual incubation. The fourth generation type incubators, in addition to the above mentioned services, are characterised by the ability to build business relationships among different companies or incubators ( Networking ). According to many authors (Tse, 2002; Freel, 2003) the networking is the main criterion which determines the success of business incubators and incubated companies. 36

37 ISSN (Print), ISSN (Online). Regional Formation and Development Studies, No. 1 (21) 3) Development stage processes: consulting of the companies which have already left the business incubator. The evaluation of the above mentioned business incubation processes were carried out according to the Pain-Gain methodology developed by R. T. Burlton (2013). All the processes were assessed according to their position in the Pain-Gain graph. The processes marked in the right part of the diagram are the most important for the business incubator and the ordinate axis shows how well these processes are performed. 2. Evaluation of the incubating processes In 2015 there were four business incubators in Lithuania: Šiauliai, Telšiai, Kazlų Rūda, and Ignalina business incubators. According to the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Strategy (2015) since the establishment of business incubators until 2015 more than 870 companies were incubated and 3409 new jobs were created in Lithuania. The largest number of created jobs per employee in a business incubator were observed in the business incubator of Telšiai (17 new jobs per one staff member).the data of this strategy also shows that in 2015 the largest number of enterprises were incubated in Šiauliai business incubator (55 companies), and the least in Kazlų Rūda incubator (9 companies). It should be noted that there is no single methodology for evaluation of business incubator performance. However, there is a comprehensive performance assessment methodology which can be applied to the public administration institutions of Lithuania. It consists of three parts: 1) monitoring of the applied quality management methods; 2) quantitative performance indicators; 3) customers satisfaction index of public services. Yet M. Kučinskienė and A. Fominienė (2015) point out that public services are highly differentiated so in order to improve customer satisfaction it is appropriate to carry out additional studies which could allow adapting the performance measurement methodology to different public organizations. Research methodology In order to evaluate the possibilities to improve the incubation processes, the Pain Gain model (Burlton, 2013) was applied. For this purpose a new methodology was proposed which includes interviews with the managers of business incubators and the survey of incubated companies. The qualitative research was carried out by interviewing all four managers of business incubators. The objectives of the study were to establish standards used for the evaluation of performance indicators and to identify the main business incubating processes as well as their impact on the business. Research methods: qualitative research (interview) and quantitative research (survey). Sampling. For the qualitative research the managers of all four business incubators were interviewed. At the day of the study 122 companies were incubated and it was planned to interview the managers of 93 incubating enterprises. The managers of 68 enterprises answered to the survey and the sampling error rate was 6.8%. Results of qualitative research In accordance to the proposed complex performance measurement methodology it was planned to determine how it was applied in the business incubators. The interviews with managers revealed that none of them was participating in the monitoring studies of the application of quality management methods in the Lithuanian public institutions/agencies. None of these methods were used in business incubators as well. Respondents claimed that the main obstacles for the application of the quality management methods were insufficient resources and the lack of staff skills. Customer satisfaction index of the public services was not calculated. Half of the managers (2) indicated that they were not familiar with this technique. Other two managers claimed that they had not been using these techniques due to the absence of a clear methodology. 37

38 Asta Fominienė, Viktorija Grigaitienė ASSESSMENT OF THE FEASIBILITY TO IMPROVE BUSINESS INCUBATION PROCESSES Previously there were some attempts to develop a single methodology for the evaluation of the incubators performance, however, calculations have not been carried out so far. Usually the incubator s annual report consists of some irrelevant indicators (number of employees, income, number of incubated companies, number of newly created jobs, etc.). In this study, the managers of business incubators were asked to rate on a scale from 1 to 5 how some of the annual report s indicators reflected the real performance of a business incubator (where 1 meant does not reflect ; 2 poorly reflects ; 3 hard to say ; 4 partly reflects ; 5 fully reflects ). Based on the results, all indicators can be divided into three groups (see Table 1). Table 1. The importance of evaluation criteria (according to the managers of incubators) in 2015 Importance Number of consultations Number of incubating companies Very important Volume of work with incubated companies 4.75 Volume of work with not incubated companies Number of companies established with incubators assistance Number of previously incubated companies 4.5 Important Number of jobs created Volume of trainings Distribution of entrepreneurship information Working with regional education institutions Survival rate of previously incubated companies 4.25 Survival rate of currently incubating companies Percentage of rent occupancy 4 Less important Companies investments 3.5 Income Number of employees 3.25 As can be seen from Table 1, the most important criteria that reflect the actual performance of the incubator can be considered as incubator s activities (for example, the number of consultations, the amount of work with companies or the volume of training). On the other hand, the company s evaluation criteria such as investments, survival rate or paid taxes are considered less important. It is also important to distinguish two other indicators: the number of incubator s employees and occupancy rate. The latter two indicators were rated as not so important, however, they make direct influence on incubator performance. This distribution suggests that Lithuanian business incubators are focused on work with companies, rather than on the results. This may indicate that Lithuanian business incubators can be attributed to the lower type of business incubators. Results of quantitative research Business incubation processes were assessed according to R. T. Burlton s (2013) Pain-Gain methodology. The respondents were asked to evaluate the importance and quality of the incubator s processes (services). The services were divided into three groups according to their importance and impact on the development of enterprises. These groups were linked with different types of incubators (see Figure 1). Tangible services are related to a business incubator of the first type. In the Pain-Gain diagram they are marked as circles (see Figure 2). Processes which were assigned to the second type incubators are indicated as rhombuses, and business incubators of the third and fourth type are marked as stars. 38

39 ISSN (Print), ISSN (Online). Regional Formation and Development Studies, No. 1 (21) Figure 2. Assessment of incubation processes according to the Pain-Gain methodology As can be seen from Figure 2, the most important processes for the respondents were tangible services, namely, rental of premises and office services. Moreover, according to their quality these services were also considered among the best ones. In fact, it signals that business incubators activities are not sufficiently developed and business incubators activities are targeted to the basic services. There exists a perception that material help is the most important for their development, however, such service does not substantially increase the added value of the incubated companies. The respondents indicated that the processes of type III and the financing search assistance are the least important. However, it should be emphasised that this situation is unfair, because these services in the longterm will enable these companies to compete in the market and survive after the incubation process. The processes marked in squares numbered 1, 2, 4, and 5 can be improved, because they are important to the companies though poorly implemented (Figure 2). The highest priority for the improvement must be given to the processes in the first section, the lowest in the fifth. Thus three processes (financing search assistance, virtual incubation, and innovation) fall into the square 5. It demonstrates that these processes can be improved, though there are no major gaps in the performance. To give an illustration, none of the investigated incubation process quality was assessed as bad or very bad. On the other hand, it should be noted that this methodology assesses processes from the perspective of incubated companies while the point of view of an innovative company may vary significantly. Such concerns might be strengthened by the fact that the selection criteria for companies to enter the business incubator are low. It is obvious in the diagram that the important processes are working well and the poorly operating processes are less relevant to the incubated companies. It was also observed in the study that services of a higher type business incubator were used by other companies less frequently. On average, 12.2% of the companies did not use services which were assigned to the first type business incubators, 35.5% did not employ the services related to the second type of incubators, and even 55.5% of the companies did not use services attributed to the third type incubators. Based on the fact that services of the higher type business incubators are rarely in use (or it is not possible to use them), they are poorly implemented and also less important for the incubated companies, it must be concluded that Lithuanian business incubators are attributed to the business incubators of the first (lowest) generation type. This conclusion coincides with the findings of the previous study by A. Fominienė (2010) which means that over the past five years there have not been observed major positive changes. This study shows that the managers of business incubators and the managers of incubated companies are focused on services which are attributed to business incubators of the first and the second generation 39

40 Asta Fominienė, Viktorija Grigaitienė ASSESSMENT OF THE FEASIBILITY TO IMPROVE BUSINESS INCUBATION PROCESSES type. However, these services do not create added value nor help to compete in the market in the long-term perspective. Conclusions Based on the analysis of the previous studies a new model for assessment and improvement of the business incubation process was introduced. This model evaluates not only the incubation processes but also the development of a business incubator. This conceptual solution allowed to analyse the processes from the point of view of companies and incubators. The study revealed that business incubators are not subject to a single, clearly defined evaluation methodology of business incubator performance. There are no attempts to use the already developed complex public administration assessment methodology. Annual reports do not fully reflect the performance of business incubators. Therefore, it is necessary to design a new methodology for the performance evaluation which would be easy to apply. According to the model it was concluded that Lithuanian business incubators can be assigned to the first-generation business incubators, thus the attention must be given to the development of services of the second-type business incubators (trainings, consulting, and financing search assistance). This insight has partially confirmed R. T. Burlton s Pain-Gain model which shows that the services of the first-generation business incubators are working well and do not require additional intervention. Is has been noticed that services of the higher type business incubators are less important for incubated companies, therefore, it is recommended to tighten the selection criteria for companies willing to enter the business incubator. The fact that the barrier of the selection criteria is too low was confirmed by the managers of the incubated companies. References Benchmarking of Business Incubators. European Commission Final Report. (2002). Available at: co.uk/upl/file/benchmarking-business-incubators-main-report-part-1.pdf Bruneel, J., Ratinho, T., Clarysse, B., Groen, A. (2011). The Evolution of Business Incubators: Comparing Demand and Supply of Business Incubation Services across Different Incubator Generations. Journal Technovation, Vol. 32, p , doi: /j.technovation Burlton, R. T. (2013). Business Architecture: The Foundation for Business Process Management and Business Analysis. Conference in Lithuania on Business Process Architecture and Analysis. Available at: pranesimai/01-business%20architecture%20-%20roger%20t%20burlton,%20bptrends.pdf Černevičiūtė, J., Strazdas, R. (2014). Meno inkubatorių vaidmuo plėtojant sistemų inovacijas. Coactivity: Philosophy, Communication, Vol. 22, No. 2, p , doi: Freel, M. S. (2003). Sectoral Patterns of Small Firm Innovation, Networking and Proximity. Research Policy, Vol. 32(5), p , doi: /s (02) Fominienė, A. (2010). Verslo inkubatorių veiklos transformacija: analizė ir vertinimas. Daktaro disertacija. Vilniaus universiteto Ekonomikos fakultetas. Fominienė, A., Mackevičius, J. (2012). Verslo inkubatorių veiklos analizė: teoriniai ir praktiniai aspektai. Tarptautinė mokslinė konferencija Apskaita, auditas, analizė: mokslas inovacijų ir globalizacijos kontekste. Mokslo darbai, d. 1, p Vilniaus universiteto leidykla. Holtzman, Y. (2011). Business Process Improvement and the Tax Department. Journal of Management Development, Vol. 30, No. 1, p Jones, M. (2010). How to Create an Award Winning Incubator? 9th Annual Conference on Science Based Incubation, Liverpool, United Kingdom, November Karalevičienė, J., Kušleikienė, L. (2011). Verslo inkubavimas ir verslumo skatinimas Lietuvoje. Profesinės studijos: teorija ir praktika, Nr. 8, p Available at: Kokybės vadybos metodų taikymo Lietuvos viešojo administravimo ir kitose institucijose / įstaigose stebėsena 2010 m. 40

41 ISSN (Print), ISSN (Online). Regional Formation and Development Studies, No. 1 (21) ataskaita. (2011). Lietuvos Respublikos vidaus reikalų ministerija, p. 57. Available at: < Kučinskienė, M., Fominienė, A. (2010a). Verslo inkubavimo proceso transformacijos didėjančios konkurencijos sąlygomis. Verslo ir teisės aktualijos, Nr. 5, p , doi: / Kučinskienė, M., Fominienė, A. (2010b). Viešosios paslaugos: verslo inkubavimas. Viešasis sektorius: organizacijų vadyba, Nr. 1 2 (25 26), p Kučinskienė, M., Fominienė, A. (2015). Kompleksinis požiūris į viešojo valdymo institucijų veiklos vertinimą. Accounting, Audit, Analysis: Science, Studies and Business Synthesis: International Scientific Conference, Research Papers. Vilnius University Publishing House, p Lietuvos Respublikos smulkiojo ir vidutinio verslo plėtotės strategija Lietuvos Respublikos ūkio ministerija. (2015). Manan, H. (2000). Technology Business Incubators Bringing Technology to the Market Place-Malaysia. International Conference on Business Incubation and Technology Innovation, Shanghai. Available at: Patton, D., Warren, L., Bream, D. (2009). Intangible Elements that Underpin High-tech Business Incubation Processes. Journal of Technology Transfer, Vol. 34 (6), p , doi: /s Stephens, S., Onofrei, G. (2012). Measuring Business Incubation Outcomes. An Irish Case Study. The International Journal of Entrepreneurship and Innovation, Vol. 13 (4), p , doi: /ijei Tse, E. (2002). Grabber-Holder Dynamics and Network Effects in Technology Innovation. Journal of Economic Dynamics and Control, Vol. 26 (9/10), p , doi: /s (01) Деменко, О. Г. (2013). О бизнес-инкубаторе как элементе инновационной инфраструктуры. Наука и практика РЭУ им. Г. В. Плеханова, Но. 1(9), с Available at: Наука и практика 1(9).pdf Сартисон, Е. A. (2013). Бизнес-инкубаторы: понятие и значение для зкономики края. Коллективная монография Издательство Алтайского государственного университета, с Available at: xmlui/bitstream/handle/asu/441/book312t.pdf?sequence=3 Verslo inkubavimo procesų tobulinimo galimybių vertinimas Asta Fominienė, Viktorija Grigaitienė Vilniaus universitetas (Lietuva) Santrauka Veiklą pradedančios įmonės verslo pradžioje patiria sunkumų, todėl smulkiojo ir vidutinio verslo rėmimas išlieka aktualus. Viena tokių paramos formų yra verslo inkubavimas. Pasaulyje šis klausimas gana plačiai nagrinėjamas, tačiau bendra verslo inkubatorių veiklos vertinimo metodika nesukurta. Nors 2005 metais Lietuvoje veikė 7 verslo inkubatoriai, šiuo metu veiklą tęsia tik keturi iš jų, todėl tyrimai šioje srityje yra aktualūs. Siekiant sklandžios verslo inkubatorių plėtros būtina tirti verslo inkubatorių veiklos procesus, teikiamų paslaugų kokybę ir jų praktinę naudą bei įžvelgti verslo inkubavimo procesų tobulinimo galimybes. Straipsnyje pateikiamos verslo inkubavimo stadijos, kurios nagrinėjamos kaip inkubavimo procesai (priešinkubaciniai, inkubaciniai ir poinkubaciniai), juose teikiamos paslaugos inkubuojamiems ūkio subjektams. Atlikus mokslinės literatūros analizę, pateikiamas verslo inkubavimo procesų vertinimo ir tobulinimo modelis, kuriame integruojami verslo inkubaciniai procesai, juose teikiamos paslaugos ir verslo inkubatorių transformacijos stadijоs. Minėti procesai vertinami taikant R. T. Burlton (2013) Pastangų ir naudos (ang. Pain Gain) metodiką, išskiriant svarbiausius verslo procesus ir jų tobulinimo galimybes. Atlikus tyrimą nustatyta, kad Lietuvoje veikiantys verslo inkubatoriai priskirtini pirmos kartos verslo inkubatoriams, todėl 41

42 Asta Fominienė, Viktorija Grigaitienė ASSESSMENT OF THE FEASIBILITY TO IMPROVE BUSINESS INCUBATION PROCESSES turi būti siekiama tobulinti antros kartos verslo inkubatorių paslaugas. Kadangi paslaugos, būdingesnės aukštesnės kartos verslo inkubatoriams, yra mažiau svarbios šiuo metu inkubuojamoms įmonėms, rekomenduojama griežtinti atrankos kriterijus, kurie turėtų užtikrinti didesnę pridėtinę vertę kuriančių įmonių inkubavimą. PAGRINDINIAI ŽODŽIAI: smulkusis ir vidutinis verslas, verslo inkubatoriai, verslo inkubavimo procesas. JEL KLASIFIKACIJA: M10, М13 Received: Revised: Accepted:

43 ISSN (Print), ISSN (Online). Regional Formation and Development Studies, No. 1 (21) PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION OF THE DEVELOPMENT AREAS IN UKRAINE Tatyana Gogol 1 State Agrarian and Engineering University in Podillia (Ukraine) ABSTRACT This study aims at presenting complex information on the specifics of regional development and its management system, as well as the experience of forming and implementing the state regional policy in Ukraine. The information in the article is presented in the context of generally accepted notions and concepts of regional development and regional policy, along with the European experience and global trends, but first of all it is based on the realities of regions and rural areas in Ukraine and on its governance model. It has been determined that to establish an effective and competent public administration of rural development should be a priority, singled out as part of the state regional policy, socially orientated and coordinated with sectoral policies. KEYWORDS: rural areas, public administration, regional policy, agricultural policy. JEL CODES: H 73; H 79. DOI: Introduction The complexity of the public administration reformation of rural development requires to keep a complicated system, taking into account all aspects of this process, as each of its components play an important role in realization of strategic tasks of the new state agricultural policy. This might be confirmed by systematic underperforming of programs due to unusually large amount of goals, tasks and activities. Though in documents the entire spectrum of industry development problems is raised, it is impossible to decide on them during a five-ten year period, especially taking into account the socio-economic situation in the country. When developing these programs, we should keep the principle of concentration when separating the main directions and providing sufficient funding for appropriate measures. A number of Ukraine scientists have researched complicated rural development issues on national level. From a particular point of view some aspects of rural development problems are studied in scientific publications (Bila, 2012; Ilyina, 2014; Kropyvko, 2016; Malik, Hvesyk, 2010; Mohylnyi, 2010; Orlatyi, 2012; Pavlov, 2015). Except for the spatial characteristics of scientific analysis, they include everything that operates in a particular area. In national scientific thought of the recent years, there has been a considerable interest in this field of scientific knowledge, as the increasing number of publications devoted to understanding of rural areas have emerged. Purpose. The article is to define the innovative principles of the state agricultural and regional policy. The modern system of state regulation of rural areas in Ukraine is on the formation stage, therefore the justification of its theoretical and methodological foundations and development of practical recommendations for 1 Tatyana Gogol State Agrarian and Engineering University in Podillia, Faculty of Economics, Department of management, governance and public administration. Scientific field: rural areas, regional development, public administration tgogol@ukr.net Tel

44 Tatyana Gogol PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION OF THE DEVELOPMENT AREAS IN UKRAINE improving the existing practice is of utmost need. Moreover, introducing innovative regulation instruments and mechanisms, proved by international practice becomes a determining factor for their further development. Object. The object of the research is the national policy of rural areas development. The emergence of new promising areas of rural development and opportunities for their popularization indicated the direction of the research. Tasks. The objectives of the research are: justification of the main directions and practical development of the state regulation mechanism for rural areas, justification of new approaches to the governance of socioeconomic processes in rural areas, which are fundamental changes in the principles of rural areas management namely, in its decentralization. Methods. The systematic approach was necessary, since the analysis of complex objects and problems, will inevitably lead to a systematic approach or theory. Empirical research was used too, as theoretical and methodological foundations were based on works of native and foreign scholars working in the field of rural development. 1. Rural areas in Ukraine current state Rural development policy consists of three major components: farmers support, environmental protection, integrated projects for the rural infrastructure support. Ensuring the balanced functioning of rural areas becomes a necessary precondition for evolutionary development at the present stage of institutional and structural reforms in Ukraine. The definition rural areas is understood as the most important part of the national economy, including the populated area outside the cities with its terms and resources, and the rural population in these areas. According to this standard definition, more than 90% of the territory of Ukraine is rural and this area is a home for more than 30.8% of the Ukrainian population engaged in human activities, mainly in agriculture and forestry. Despite the diversity of approaches to analysing these problems in scientific journals and a number of methodological, theoretical, analytical and applied researches on the state government mechanisms for the rural areas development is still not enough. Territorial development is directly oriented to the person and formation of full living conditions and habitat for him / her, therefore, objectively, it has interdepartmental character and its task is to conform to multi-vector interests of various sectors. An essential condition for the effective functioning of economy is development of rural infrastructure, including technical infrastructure. Without roads, efficient transport, communications, water supply and energy production in large areas is impossible. The lack of waste collection and sewerage systems threatens natural environment and the functioning of rural settlement. One of the main difficulties in the development of infrastructure in rural areas is large spatial dispersion. The total number of villages in Ukraine is 29.3 thousand, including 28.4 thousand villages and 0.9 thousand hamlets and settlements. However, rapid deterioration of the socio-economic situation of rural areas, that took place during the last decade, is also worth drawing attention to. To give an illustration, the amount of settlements with a population, that numbers over 500, decreased by almost 10%. In comparison, in more than half of the settlements the numbers decreased by 52.5% in Sumy, 45.7% in Chernigov, 42.8% in Kharkiv, 39.6% in Poltava; and in more than a third part of Luhansk, Kirovohrad, Dnipropetrovsk and Donetsk regions the population nowadays numbers only up to 100 people. At the beginning of 2014 the number of residents with up to 50 inhabitants accounted for 17.3 % of the total number of rural settlements. Rural areas are not only a place for agricultural production and farming, due to favorable environmental conditions they are attractive places for common living, which would be impossible to use without an effi- 44

45 ISSN (Print), ISSN (Online). Regional Formation and Development Studies, No. 1 (21) cient modern infrastructure. As a result of the support for civilization development in rural areas and construction of necessary infrastructure there, more people get better accessibility to the areas situated outside the city. Table 1. Availability of social infrastructure objects in rural areas of Ukraine Indices / years Housing stock: number of residential buildings, apartments, million units the total area million sq. m Pre-school establishments, thousand units Secondary comprehensive schools, thousand units: among them: Level I-(Primary) Level І ІІ (Primary and Basic) Level І ІІІ (Complete) Special schools (boarding schools) and rehabilitation schools, units Higher educational establishments, units: among them: I II accreditation levels III IV accreditation levels Club establishments, thousand units Libraries, thousand units Film demonstrators, thousand units 22,2 13,6 5, Religious institutions, thousand units 5.9 8,8 11,3 13,5 Healthcare facilities, thousand units Outpatient clinics, thousand units Local health service centres, thousand units Pharmacies, thousand units Ambulance stations, units Stadiums, units Gymnasiums, thousand units Swimming pools, units Shooting galleries, thousand units Sports fields and playgrounds, thousand units Football ground, thousand units Shops, thousand units 60, Kiosks, thousand units Economy class restaurant, thousand units Telephone exchange, thousand units Source: compiled by the author based on: According to the investigation of rural and urban dwellings, the former happened to compromise on quality. As of January 1, 2015, only 1 % of the dwellings of rural households were equipped with central heating and those with individual heating accounted for 48.2% of households. Centralized gas supply is used within 3.2 million of households (53.2%), and gas cylinder within 1.9 million households (31%). Moreover, 16.9% of dwellings are supplied with running hot water, 28.9% of dwellings are equipped with water delivery, 25.2% of households have sewerage, and 25% of households have a bath or shower. Summarizing the above stated information, the conclusion can be made that both the facilities within the dwellings and the provision of housing are directly dependent on the scope of the settlement. Unlike quantitative indices of 45

46 Tatyana Gogol PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION OF THE DEVELOPMENT AREAS IN UKRAINE households living conditions, the improvement level of residential properties compromises on quality, while the size of the settlement decreases. Although the absolute number of rural preschool educational establishments prevails in number over the alike urban institutions, it exceeds twice (2.3) in number of the pre-school seats in village, and three times (3.2) in number of children attending them. During the period the number of pre-schools in rural areas decreased to 3.3 thousand units; and the pre-school attendance rate accounted for 41% of appropriate age children, while in urban areas it accounted for 63%. The indices of the rural educational network condition mentioned above, indicate that the supply of the rural areas with schools accounts only for 43.8%, i.e., there is only one school per 2.3 rural settlements. As for the network of medical establishments in rural areas, it included 0.6 thousand outpatient clinics and 13.3 thousand health service centers. During the period, the number of hospitals decreased five times (number of beds within them 3.6 times), outpatient clinics 5.7 times, health service centers 1.1 times. Similarly, due to the limited funding of sport support in rural areas, by January 10, 2015, the share of the rural population, being indulged in sport, accounted only for 5.6%, which is lower than defined in the state programs. While overcoming the crisis in social infrastructure, the elaboration of economic mechanism for regulation of social processes in rural areas is vital. Rural development should be based on the optimal combination of government regulations and market, clearly separating the powers and responsibilities of regional budget, local budgets and extra budgetary funds, funds of legal and individual persons, participating in the social programs implementation. However, the evaluation of rural areas in Ukraine is not definite yet. On the one hand, improved economic situation of farmers, increasing agricultural productivity and the sector s added value, improving infrastructure in rural areas has increased the number of households connected to the water supply and sanitation. However, there was a negative phenomenon too. There was observed the aging of the rural population and exodus of young people from rural areas. Despite the growing tendency in agriculture, the productivity of it in Ukraine still lags behind other countries. Table 2. Labor productivity in agricultural enterprises (agricultural production per 1 employee, in 2010 prices; hryvnya) Agricultural production total including: crop production livestock production Source: compiled by the author based on: An important factor in the development of rural areas is an agricultural enterprise, which is a kind of business activity. In the Ukrainian agriculture there exist the following types of economic activity enterprises: units of legal persons and their separate subdivisions, which are involved in growing the annual, biennial and perennial crops, plant reproduction, animal production, mixed farming and supporting agriculture and post-harvest activities; thousand units of households, the residence of which is registered in rural settlements and their members were given land plots according to the current legislation with a specialpurpose designation for conducting private peasant holding (including plots, which before had been given with a special-purpose designation for conducting private subsidiary small-holding ). 46

47 ISSN (Print), ISSN (Online). Regional Formation and Development Studies, No. 1 (21) Table 3. Number of agricultural enterprises, by the organizational and the legal forms of business and individual farms Total, units Business partnerships Private enterprises co-operatives Private farms State enterprises Enterprises of other types of business Total number of farms, thousand units 4915,3 4540,4 4915,3 4540,4 4301,8 4241,6 Source: compiled by the author based on: The World Bank confirmed and identified these problems by ranking them according to the importance: the primary factor is the level of technical infrastructure and equipment in rural areas that has direct impact on the development of them and agriculture; among other documented problems there was mentioned the quantitative level of agricultural production; and then the overall development opportunities in these areas that attract domestic capital and investments (Wyporska, Mosiej, 2010). However, the EU policy on infrastructure development that has been conducted for many years, aims to create conditions for its availability in all EU countries, in order to diminish the civilization gap, separating rural areas from the urban ones, as well as to create equal opportunities for competitiveness in rural areas. Population in the world developing regions will remain predominantly rural until 2020, then, the size of the rural population is expected to decline due to slower population growth and rapid urbanization in most countries. The main object of this development is the foundation of national wealth the land. So that to achieve this goal, it is necessary to distinguish the following tasks: To form an effective system of public authority in the regions, capable to provide sustainable rural development. To establish effective mechanisms of representation of regional interests and regional-local communities at the national level. To ensure the consideration of regions identity and their competitive advantages in the formation and implementation of the state regional policy. To strengthen the influence of local government administrations on rural development, improving the quality of public services and decision-making in rural development. To develop the legal support of local government administrations for strengthening the financial and economic independence of communities. Thus, transformation processes in the agricultural economy should result in the formation of a qualitatively new system of state regulatory relations, capable to self-regulate in the dynamic transformational phases and contradictions. 2. Modernization of rural development policy Having analysed the legislation on the governing of rural development it should be noted that a number of regulations of different legal force were adopted, defining a system of government measures for to overcome the crisis. The aim was to create an appropriate standard of living for the rural population in the light of population decline in the village. Though those programs had clearly defined goals and ways to achieve 47

48 Tatyana Gogol PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION OF THE DEVELOPMENT AREAS IN UKRAINE them but despite the progressive orientation of the developed and adopted legislation they did not give the expected positive results. State administration of the development of rural areas is a form of activity performed by the authorities and local government administrations, which finds its expression in the adoption of the relevant legal acts, concepts, strategies and programs aimed at solving social and economic problems of rural areas. However, despite a large amount of measures, implemented at the state level for providing stabilization and further social and economic development of rural areas, the situation in this area is still difficult due to the following reasons: Absence of a single central executive state authority which would be responsible for the development of rural areas in Ukraine with priority attention on social issues, integrated and stable development of rural areas. Yet in the structure of the Ministry of Agrarian policy and provision of Ukraine, there is a department for scientific and educational support of rural development but its functions are very limited; Irrational distribution of powers between the local government administrations and the local executive agencies; Inadequacy of the existing territorial authority, administrative and territorial system of the country to its new issues of development; Lack of real opportunities for: self-realization of citizens, the policy of stable development of rural areas, incentives to attract citizens to the government; as well as lack of accountability of the local government administration to its citizens. The modern system of the state regulation of the rural Ukrainian areas is in the formation phase, yet the arguments for its theoretical and methodological foundation as well as development of practical recommendations for its improvement, introducing progressive instruments and mechanisms, proved by international practice, is a crucially important factor for their further development. Today the term modernization becomes quite popular and often one can notice a deliberate attempt to implement qualitative changes in the Ukrainian society based on the experience of advanced countries. The main problems of modernization and possible solution issues are: withdrawal of economy from the political control; creation of an open social structure with institutions ensuring mutual security; establishment of an effective system of local government. Modernization of the state is a system of changes that occurs when pre-paradigm (model) of a state ceases to act and thus its further development stops. Therefore, we consider modernization as a specific ideology around which specific reforms leading to large-scale qualitative changes are implemented. Development of rural areas is a complex terminological structure that first of all is the scientific abstraction. Firstly, it needs differentiation of the general concept into components, then determination of their nature and content. The research made it possible to classify the system-establishing factors of the concept rural area, namely as: spatial and geographical, anthropological, resource production, settlement and network, organizational management (Yermolenko, 2010). The most complete and the most meaningful definition of the concept rural area should include all of these factors, although, an anthropological factor is certainly in priority. The leading role in overcoming the problems of sustainable development in rural areas should first of all belong to the measures that ensure sustainable social development of these areas. Hence, the territory is considered not only as a recipient, where different subjects operate independently, but rather as the development affecting factor. Even at the beginning of 21 st century Ukraine remains the rural country searching for sustainable development within different regions. So that to understand the essence of rural areas in the context development programs and their conceptual issues, it is important to understand the irreversible relation between the social part of the Ukrainian village development and the state regulation of rural development, as to have opportunities to get the other important results of it. We consider that rural areas should be logically defined as a synthesized concept with structural elements of the population, environment, economic entities, public administration and local government (Gogol, 2009). 48

49 ISSN (Print), ISSN (Online). Regional Formation and Development Studies, No. 1 (21) Concluding, the future political decentralization at the regional level should be aimed at strengthening the capacity of local communities, their adaptation to the specific conditions of economic and social development, established in Ukraine. It would be the most appropriate type of decentralization in the current socio-economic conditions. 3. The formation and implementation of the state policy for rural development The current global challenges and trends followed by definite problems of the territorial development of Ukraine determinate the necessity to develop a new public policy and create new opportunities for the rural areas development. Considering the given conditions it is necessary to form and implement a solid public policy based on the basic long-term goals, i.e. competitiveness, environmental protection, diversification of economic activities, development of local communities. However, the policy should be supported by systematic monitoring of its implementation and evaluation. There may be distinguished the following priority areas of the public policy: Strengthening of the state regulation s function for integrated development of rural areas by creating a state agency for coordination and management of the development process. It could serve as a manager of administrative and financial resources that concentrates key factors and resources for realization of economic, social, demographic, humanitarian policy in rural areas. Application of a three-level system of management in the rural areas development (local, regional, national) thereby separating the powers, responsibilities and resources between the authorities of different territorial administration levels, and empowering local communities to solve sustainable development issues in rural areas taking into account their local specificity. Formation of the partnership model of socio-economic development of rural areas through the interaction of such subjects as local government, community organizations, representatives of local businesses. Improvement of mutual relationships of towns and villages: urban system should be developed in such a way as to facilitate the access to them for rural residents; development of public transport networks, increasing the efficiency of infrastructure; creating recreation areas for the residents; preserving and enhancing natural and cultural heritage. The condition for such effective partnership cooperation with local authorities on the basis of equality. Horizontal cooperation regarding economic, financial and social policies. During the preparation of different programs and then making decisions, spatial conditions and the expected territorial impact should be taken into account. Interaction of sectoral policies that have a significant geographical impact, for example, on transport, agriculture and environmental protection. Use of territorial planning as an effective tool for integration of local, regional and national interests in certain areas. Creation of a mechanism for the self-development of regions and strengthening their financial and resource base. Establishing of an effective and efficient local government system and a strong local community. The community should maintain and develop the necessary infrastructure that would provide basic administrative and public services (water supply, sanitation, energy supply, pre-school and secondary education, social protection, road maintenance, health, medical, cultural services, etc.). Introducing advisory services for local government in the regional councils, as centers for interaction and managing the development of rural areas. Creating effective mechanisms of control by the executive authorities and local communities for monitoring the decisions and actions of local government. The current model of revival of the Ukrainian village becomes real on the base of formation of baseline criteria (administrative and territorial units-communities). The main responsibilities of local communities for 49

50 Tatyana Gogol PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION OF THE DEVELOPMENT AREAS IN UKRAINE expenditures are as follow: provision of municipal services, territorial improvement, maintenance of local roads, local infrastructure, management of pre-school and secondary education, provision of primary health care, social security and assistance, cultural development and physical culture, disposal of land outside the settlements, area reclamation, community economic development, passenger transportation in the community, local police and fire protection, administrative and public services (Concept, 2014). Thus, determined powers are provided by the direct relations with the state budget and the following types of local budget revenues: 60% tax on personal income, 25% environmental tax, 5% excise tax, single tax, income tax, property tax, state tax, fee administrative services, administrative fines and penalties, charges (tourism, parking), fees for licenses and certificates, rent and rent for the use of natural resources and transfers, on revenues of budgetary institutions, equity funds, etc. Yet the results of fiscal decentralization in 2015 has shown the increase of local revenues by 42.1% 99.8 billion UAH against 70.2 billion UAH in In January-February of 2016, the general fund revenues of local budgets (without transfers) increased by 49.2%, or 6.2 billion, compared to the same period in 2015 and amounted to 18.9 billion UAH (Zubko, 2016). However, the State Budget for 2016 provides a subvention of 1 billion USD for the creation and modernization of the infrastructure of the united territorial communities. The subvention is provided for the creation and modernisation of the united local community infrastructure, and can be directed to new construction, reconstruction and repair of infrastructure sites, belonging to communal property (including production design and planning documentation). It is understood that social support for rural areas has no direct impact on economic growth. However, this component is a unifying factor for the rural territorial communities and creates a feeling of care from the authorities about the human and a feeling of security in difficult times. For the first half of 2016 actual revenues of the general fund of local budgets of 159 united local communities (including transfers from the state budget) accounted for 3093 million UAH, what is seven times more compared to the 2015 budget revenues of local councils amalgamated with the ULC. Association of communities allowed increasing the ULC budget income per 1 local resident. The average ULC index (compared to the first half of 2015) increased by 667 USD (from 288 UAH to 955 UAH) (Zubko, 2016). The concept of sustainable rural development foresees the inclusion of space (territory) into different processes: economic development should be associated with a particular territory, environmental regulations should be ensured not in general but for a particular place. Furthermore, social equality should exist in a certain community and not be abstract in average rates in the country. Such an approach forms the concept of sustainable areas development which now has a tendency to be implemented in many countries of the world. Despite the existence of the legislative support, the coordination of the sectoral policies affecting the development of regions and territories unfortunately has not been yet created in Ukraine. Talking about modern agricultural policy of the EU we should understand that it was formed and it operates on the foundation and within the limits of the regional, primary structural policy. Regional structural policy of the EU is considered to be a good example of European multilevel interlacing. When describing the structure of regional structural policies such concepts as multi-system network or political double interlacing are used, in this way these concepts cover cooperation between the EU, member states and regions but they don t indicate the internal differentiation of this interlacing structure. However, we should pay attention if we want to understand the principles of functioning of the common European structural policy. In regional structural policy the regional structural strength depends not only on the availability of the administrative and financial resources but also on the decisions of the regional structures and their integration into vertical layered structure (Bentz, 2007). In Ukraine during the last years a reinterpretation of the national regional policy based on the best European experience, actually rural development policy, took place and was defined as part of a policy of regional development. Therefore, today development of rural areas is considered as part of a regional policy, not as a separate one. However, for Ukraine, where the level of urbanization is one of the lowest in Europe and a part of agriculture in the GDP of the state is the highest among the European countries, rural areas development should be a priority, singled out as part of the state regional policy, maintaining social orientation and coordinated with the sectoral (branch) policies. 50

51 ISSN (Print), ISSN (Online). Regional Formation and Development Studies, No. 1 (21) Conclusions Implementation of fiscal decentralization should be based on the administrative-territorial reform in Ukraine and a new ideology of the government which determines the primary target of the state and local government activity to provide efficient services. While solving these important tasks there should be a search for integrated management solutions, taking into account the whole range of the existing problems cultural, social, and economic, of legal and institutional character. The purpose of the state regulation of rural areas development should lie in the creation of favourable conditions for the citizens, the society and the state. It will undoubtedly serve for the further progress of Ukraine as a democratic state with a stable and growing market economy governed by the European economic values, which respect and protect the rights and legitimate interests of all regional communities, social classes and ethnic groups. Thus, it is the key to independent, free, sovereign, united and democratic development of Ukraine. References Benz, A. (2007). Multilevel interlacing in the European Union. European integration. Kyiv: Mohyla Academy, p. 219, 224. Bila, S. O. (2012). Reforming of the social-economic development of rural areas in Ukraine. Strategic Priorities, Vol. 3 (24), p Borodina, O. (2010). Social innovation in the system of rural development: conceptual approaches. Economy of Ukraine, Vol. 9, p Borschevskyy, V. V. (2012). The development of rural areas in the system of European integration priorities of Ukraine. Lviv. Diyesperov, V. S. (2014). Rural areas as objects of economic activity. Economy of AIC, Vol. 5, p. 56. Gogol, T. V. (2009). Rural areas as an object of state regulation [E-resource]. Public Administration: Theory and Practice, Vol. 2. Available: http: // Heading from the screen. Grynchuk, N. M. (2011). Innovative approaches in addressing the socio-economic development of cities. Innovation in public management: system integration of education, science and practice: Proceedings of the conference with international participation, Vol. 2, p Ermolenko, V. M. (2010). Features of formation of the category sustainable rural development. Scientific Bulletin of National University of Life and Environmental Sciences of Ukraine, Vol. 156, p Ilyina, M. (2014). Theoretical problems of study of rural area as integral socio-ecological-economic systems. Environmental Economics and Environment, p Kovbasyuk, Y. V. (2011). Encyclopedia of Public Administration. Methodology of state government, Vol. 2. Kropyvko, M. F. Organization and planning of a complex development of agricultural production and rural areas in terms of decentralization of powers [E-resource] Available: Lavrynenko, S., Zhalilo, Ya. As for the level of social development of rural areas and rural life [electronic resource]. Available: Malik, M. I. (2010). Sustainable development of rural areas on the basis of regional nature and environmental safety agroindustrial production. Economy of AIC, Vol. 5, p Mohylnyi, O. M. (2010). State policy in the rural areas development. Economy of AIC, Vol. 10, p Moskalev, I. Technological bases of social and innovation public administration [E-resource]. Available: spkurdyumov.narod.ru/moskalev23.htm. Orlatyi, M. K., Gogol, T. V. (2012). Modern problems of development of social infrastructure in rural areas of Ukraine. Sustainable development and security of agricultural sector of Ukraine in conditions of globalizational challenges, p Orlatyi, M. K., Hnybidenko, I. F., Demchak, I. M. (2012). Rural areas development of Ukraine ( years). Kyiv: Research institute. On approval of the Concept of reforming the local self-government and territorial organization of power in Ukraine, from Number 333-r. Available: Pavlov, A. I. (2015). Identification and classification of agricultural territories: theory, methodology, practice. Odessa: Astroprint. Šimanskienė, L., Paužuolienė, J. (2010). Corporate social responsibility based on sustainable business. Human Resources: The Main Factor of Regional Development, Issue 3, p

52 Tatyana Gogol PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION OF THE DEVELOPMENT AREAS IN UKRAINE Wyporska, K., Mosiej, J. (2010). Technical infrastructure for environmental protection at the level of farms as a factor of sustainable rural development. Economic and Environmental Studies, Vol. 10, No. 1 (13), p Zubko, G. Thanks to the financial decentralization the revenues of local budgets increased during the year in 1.5 times [E-resource] Available: MAŽIAU IŠSIVYSČIUSIŲ UKRAINOS REGIONŲ VIEŠASIS ADMINISTRAVIMAS Tatyana Gogol Valstybinis žemdirbystės ir inžinerijos universitetas Podilijoje (Ukraina) Santrauka Šiuo tyrimu siekiama perteikti sudėtingą informaciją apie regionų vystymą ir jų administravimo sistemas, patirtis kuriant ir įgyvendinant valstybinę regionų politiką Ukrainoje. Informacija pateikiama pripažįstamų ir vertinamų konceptų bei nuomonių apie regionų vystymą ir politiką, Europos patirties ir globalių tendencijų bei krypčių kontekste. Visų pirma informacija paremta regionų ir kaimo vietovių Ukrainoje valdymo patirtimi. Straipsnyje atskleidžiama, kad norint užtikrinti efektyvų ir kompetentingą kaimo vietovės viešąjį administravimą pirmiausia reikėtų nusistatyti prioritetus. Prioritetai turėtų būti teikiami mažiau išsivysčiusiems regionams ir tai turėtų būti valstybinės regionų politikos dalis, koordinuojant savo veiksmus su sektorine politika, kartu išlaikant savo socialinę pakraipą. Fiskalinės decentralizacijos taikymas Ukrainoje turėtų būti derinamas su administracine-teritorine reforma. Svarbu, kad naujos valdžios deklaruojama ideologija būtų nukreipta į pagrindinių valstybės ir vietos valdžios problemų sprendimą, siekiant gyventojams teikti efektyvias paslaugas. Tokio integruoto administravimo, kuris atkreiptų dėmesį į visas skirtingas kultūrines, socialines, ekonomines, įstatymines ir institucinio pobūdžio problemas, paieškos yra būtinos, norint išspręsti kylančias problemas. Valstybės lygmens kaimo vietovių reguliavimo tikslas turėtų būti tokių reguliavimo mechanizmų sukūrimas piliečiams, valstybei ir visuomenei, siekiant tolesnės Ukrainos, kaip demokratinės valstybės, pažangos ir ekonominio augimo, pripažįstant Europos ekonomines vertybes bei atsižvelgiant į teisėtus regionų bendruomenių, socialinių klasių ir etninių grupių interesus. Tai yra kelias į laisvos, nepriklausomos, savarankiškos, vieningos ir demokratiškos Ukrainos vystymąsi. PAGRINDINIAI ŽODŽIAI: kaimo vietovės, viešasis administravimas, regionų politika, agrokultūros politika. JEL CODES; H 73; H 79. Received: Reviesed: Accepted:

53 ISSN (Print), ISSN (Online). Regional Formation and Development Studies, No. 1 (21) SHOULD ICELAND SEEK EUROPEN UNION AND EURO AREA MEMBERSHIP? Hilmar Þór Hilmarsson 1 University of Akureyri (Iceland) ABSTRACT Iceland is a small, resource rich country in Europe that is highly dependent on foreign trade. According to the World Bank classifications, Iceland is a high income economy, but with a population of a little bit more than 300 thousand inhabitants, is the smallest economy within the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). Iceland is highly dependent on foreign trade, especially on trade with the European Union, where economic and political integration is evolving and the question about the most feasible level of participation is a future challenge for the country. Iceland is a member of the European Free Trade Association (EFTA), the European Economic Area (EEA) and the Schengen area, and the European Union (EU) candidate country until recently, when its government decided to withdraw its EU membership application. Currently, the EEA agreement ensures Iceland access to the EU common market. The question remains, what is the most feasible arrangement for Iceland s prosperity in the long term? Should it continue to rely on the current arrangement? Should it seek the EU membership in the future and, perhaps, subsequently become part of the Euro Area? What are the possible benefits and disadvantages for Iceland joining the EU and the Euro Area? KEYWORDS: economic integration, small states, Iceland, global crisis, economic policy. JEL CODES: F15, H12, E6 DOI: Introduction Iceland is a small, resource rich country in Europe that is highly dependent on foreign trade. According to the World Bank classifications, Iceland is a high income economy, but with a population of a little bit more than 300 thousand inhabitants, is the smallest economy within the OECD. Iceland in highly dependent on foreign trade, especially on trade with the European Union, where economic and political integration is evolving and the question about the most feasible and sustainable level of participation in this integration remains a challenge for the country. Iceland is a member of EFTA, EEA and Schengen, and EU candidate country until recently when its government decided to withdrew its application. Should Iceland continue to rely on the current arrangement? Should it seek EU membership in the future and perhaps subsequently become part of the Euro area? What are the possible benefits and disadvantages for Iceland joining the EU and the Euro Area? Iceland applied for the EU membership in July 2009, and just a year later began accession negotiations. The current cabinet, that took office in May 2013, decided to put the accession negotiations on a complete hold, to dissolve the negotiating structures, and to commission an assessment of the accession process, as well as of developments in the EU (Ministry for Foreign Affairs, 2015). When the accession negotiations were put on hold, 27 out of 33 chapters were opened, out of which 11 have been provisionally closed. 6 chap- 1 Hilmar Þór Hilmarsson Ph. D. Professor, School of Business and Science, University of Akureyri Iceland Scientific interests: finance, emergencies economy hilmar@unak.is Tel

54 Hilmar Þór Hilmarsson SHOULD ICELAND SEEK EUROPEN UNION AND EURO AREA MEMBERSHIP? ters were not opened, although negotiating positions were in place for two of them, i.e., the chapter on food safety, veterinary and phytosanitary policy, and the chapter on justice, freedom and security. A negotiating position was not in place for four chapters, i.e., the chapters on agriculture, fisheries, and the free movement of capital, and on the right of establishment and freedom to provide services (Institute of Economic Studies at the University of Iceland, 2014). Had negotiations resumed, Iceland would have faced contentious issues on fisheries policy which could potentially have derailed the agreement. The chapter on agriculture was also sensitive and challenging. Since those most difficult chapters had never been opened, it is hard to say what changes of the agreement between Iceland and the EU were. Also, if an agreement was reached, the accession treaty would still require ratification by every EU state and be subject to a national referendum in Iceland. Public support for the EU accession measured by opinion polls has fluctuated, but is currently low. 1. Methodology The methodology used in this article is the case study method. Compared to other research methods, a case study enables the researcher to examine the issues involved in greater depth. According to Yin (Yin, 2009: ), six sources of evidence are most commonly used in case studies. They are as follow: documentation, archival records, interviews, direct observations, participant-observation, and physical artefacts. Each of these sources has advantages and disadvantages and, according to Yin, one should note that no single source has a complete advantage over all the others. In fact, the various sources are highly complementary, and a good case study will therefore want to use as many sources as possible (Yin, 2009: 101). Among the sources of evidence used for the analysis in this article is secondary data, including analytical reports and scholarly literature with peer-reviewed journal articles and books on the subject. Direct observation also plays a role as the author of this article draws on his own experience and observations while living in Iceland and following the domestic dialogue on the EU accession. The author also draws on his experience as a Special Advisor to the Minister for Foreign Affairs in Iceland from 1995 to 1999 and as a staff member of the World Bank in Latvia from 1999 to 2003, just before Latvia, another small country, became an EU member state. Preference is given to using well documented evidence that is publicly available and listed in the references. The author also conducted interviews and collected information at the European Central Bank in June 2015 and at the European Commission and EFTA in July This case study does not present results that can be evaluated on the basis of statistical significance and one should be careful about generalizing or projecting the findings of one case study onto another case or situation. However, some lessons from the study could have wider relevance than for Iceland only. This is especially true for small, open, resource rich economies, dependent on the access to a large common market, using its own currency, and with limited institutional capacity to respond to external shocks and pressures in the globalization era. The organization of the article is as follows: (i) some theoretical considerations regarding gains from trade, economic integration with reflection on small states; (ii) a brief literature survey on the Icelandic economy and its changing structure; (iii) the global crisis and recent economic performance; (iv) the possible benefits and disadvantages of Iceland joining the EU and subsequently the Euro area; (v) discussion about the consequence of small economic size experienced by Iceland, and, finally, conclusions. 2. Theoretical considerations Classical economic theory documents gains from international trade, demonstrating that nations can improve their welfare by engaging in cross-border trade with other nations. To this day, this is one of the fundamental principles underlying arguments for all countries to strive for expanding and promoting free world trade (e.g., Czinkota et al., 2009). The efficiencies derived from economics of scale are also a key argument 54

55 ISSN (Print), ISSN (Online). Regional Formation and Development Studies, No. 1 (21) for economic integration 2 and the creation of a common market where all participating countries can benefit from it. The level of economic integration varies. Listing from the least to the most integrative, they are as follow: the free trade area, the customs union, the common market and, finally, the economic union. EFTA, where Iceland is a member since 1970 (see Table 1), is a free trade area and represents the loosest form of economic integration where all barriers for trade among member countries are removed. Table 1. European Free Trade Association (EFTA) 3 membership through the years 1960 Austria, Denmark, Norway, Portugal, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom establish EFTA 1970 Iceland becomes a member of EFTA 1972 Denmark and the United Kingdom leave EFTA to join the European Economic Community (EEC) 1985 Portugal leaves EFTA to become a member of the European Economic Community (EEC) 1986 Finland becomes a full member of EFTA 1991 Liechtenstein becomes a member of EFTA 1995 Austria, Finland and Sweden leave EFTA to join the European Union (EU) Source: EFTA, However, it does not have a common trade policy, such as a common external tariff, with respect to nonmembers, like the customs union does. EFTA has three core tasks. The first is the liberalization of intra-efta trade. The second the EFTA States have built networks of preferential trade relations in the world, currently consisting of 25 free trade agreements (FTAs) with 35 partners. Finally, three of the four EFTA States Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway are parties to the EEA Agreement, 4 which ensures their participation in the Internal Market of the European Union 5 (EFTA, 2014). As Table 1 shows, EFTA has lost most of its members who chose closer economic integration by joining the EU. The EU is moving towards an Economic Union. This involves not only abolition of tariff and quotas among members (like in the case of a free trade area such as EFTA), but also the common tariff and quota system, abolition of restrictions of factor movements, as well as harmonization and unification of economic policies and institutions. The formation of an economic union requires nations to surrender a large measure of their national sovereignty to supranational authorities in the union wide institutions. The level of integration varies among countries within the EU, as 19 out of 28 member states have adopted the euro ( ) as their common currency and the sole legal tender (see Figure 1). The formation of a common currency area can bring benefits to the members of the currency union, particularly if there is a high degree of international trade among them (i.e., a high level of trade integration). This is primarily because of the reductions in transaction costs in trade and the reduction in the exchange rate uncertainty. However, there 2 In addition to economic benefits of economic integration there can also be important political and security concerns that drive the integration process. 3 The European Free Trade Association is an intergovernmental organization set up for the promotion of free trade and economic integration to the benefit of its Member States (today: Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland). The Association is responsible for the management of: the EFTA Convention, which forms the legal basis of the organization and governs free trade relations between the EFTA States; the EFTA s worldwide network of free trade and partnership agreements; and the Agreement on the European Economic Area, which extends the Internal Market of the European Union to three of the four EFTA States (Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway) (EFTA, 2014). 4 The EEA Agreement does not include the following EU policies: Common Agriculture and Fisheries Policies; Customs Union; Common Trade Policy; Common Foreign and Security Policy; Justice and Home Affairs (the EFTA States are part of the Schengen area); Economic and Monetary Union (EMU). 5 The EEA EFTA States do not have the right to participate in the political decision making within the EU institutions. The EEA Agreement does, however, provide the EEA EFTA State experts with the opportunity to contribute to the shaping of EU legislation (EFTA, 2014). 55

56 Hilmar Þór Hilmarsson SHOULD ICELAND SEEK EUROPEN UNION AND EURO AREA MEMBERSHIP? are also costs of joining a currency union, namely: the loss of independent monetary policy and the loss of the exchange rate as a means of macroeconomic adjustment. In addition to economic theories on the gains from trade and economies of scale, as well as theories on economics of integrations, including the common currency area, there are also theories on the behaviour of small states within multilateral arrangements. Small states, as well as large states, have a choice to engage in bilateral negotiations and/or multilateral arrangements addressing issues that cannot be resolved only within their borders. Bilateral negotiations are carried out between two nations focusing only on their interests. On the other hand, multilateralism is the international governance of the many, and in the case of the EU 28 member states large and small among them. Multilateral negotiations open up the possibility for small states, along with larger ones, to participate in international decision making. According to Thorhallsson, a leading scholar on small states, the literature on small states issues generally claims that it is beneficial for small states to concentrate on multilateral relations within international organizations (Thorhallsson, 2005). When discussing multilateralism Kahler states that Smaller, weaker states were believed to be disadvantaged by bilateralism... and [i]n their formal institutional design at least, most postwar multilateral institutions incorporated a larger role in decision making for states that were not great powers and could not aspire to be (Kahler, 1992: 681). When discussing small states as aid donors, Hoadley predicts high levels of participation by small states in multilateral agencies (Hoadley, 1980: 129). This would apply to the United Nations (UN) as well as multilateral development banks. More recently, Evans and Newnham argue that small states are said to have limited involvement in the world affairs, favour intergovernmental organizations, are advocates of international law, shy, away from the use of military force and in general have limited, mostly regional, foreign policy priorities (Evans and Newnham, 1998: ). Finally, Maass states that [m]embership and participation in international governmental organizations is not only a frequent priority of small states, but it has also been discussed as an indicator of independence, and as such as a secondary definitional requirement for small states in particular (Maass, 2009: 69). A group of small states can also be influential as Ingebritsen argues, when discussing Scandinavian countries, that these states exercise collective authority beyond their borders that exceed their military or economic might (Ingebritsen, 2006: 1). She also argues that Scandinavians are likely to be found in groups that seek to strengthen international institutions. Scandinavian countries are indeed active participants in the UN and in multilateral development banks, and among them Denmark, Finland and Sweden are the EU members and give high priority to active participation within the EU institutional systems. Keohane suggests that we focus on the systemic role that state leaders see their countries playing. This is critical to understand the impact countries can have on the international community. Keohane distinguishes the following categories of states: system-determining, when a state plays a critical role in shaping the international system; system-influencing are states that cannot expect to individually dominate the international system but may be able to influence it through unilateral or multilateral action; system-affecting states are those that cannot affect the international system if acting alone but can exert significant impact on the system if working through small groups or alliances or through universal or regional international organizations; and, finally, system-ineffectual states are those that can do little to influence the system-wide forces that affect them, except in groups which are so large that each state has minimal influence (Keohane, 1969: ). How can this categorization contribute to the behaviour of small states in international organizations? As Keohane observes,...a major function of international organizations perceived by many small and middle powers is to allow these states acting collectively to help shape developing international attitudes, dogmas and codes of proper behavior (Keohane, 1969: 297). For example, Iceland, acting alone or in partnership with a very large number of other countries, would have little impact and would be classified as systemineffectual. Iceland could do little in most cases to influence system-wide forces. However, situations can exist, including international development cooperation, where small countries that work in partnership, such as the Nordic-Baltic group, could become system-affecting (see, e.g., Hilmarsson, 2011). 56

57 ISSN (Print), ISSN (Online). Regional Formation and Development Studies, No. 1 (21) In the past Iceland cooperated multilaterally with the Nordic countries and parliamentarians from those countries met regularly in joint sessions. During the Cold War Iceland had strong bilateral relationship with the USA, a system-determining country, including a bilateral defence agreement. The political ties between the two countries could be critical in resolving disputes between Iceland and other countries, most notably in the dispute with the UK over fisheries territories. In the post-cold war this relationship becomes weaker and does not provide the shelter it did in the past. Unlike Denmark, Finland, Sweden and the Baltic States, Iceland, an EEA EFTA country (with Norway), in not an EU member and is not sheltered by the EU institutions (see Figure 1). There is a possibility, at least in theory, that the Nordic-Baltic countries could become system-affecting states within the EU if they cooperate as a group. Figure 1. The Nordic and the Baltic States, all small countries, have chosen different levels of European integration. Norway and Iceland have the lowest level of integration but the Baltic States and Finland have the highest level of integration. Source: constructed by the author. Although the three EEA EFTA states do not have the right to participate directly in the political decision making within the EU institutions, the EEA Agreement provide their experts with the opportunity to contribute to the shaping of EU legislation at the preparatory stage. This is done via participation in the European Commission s (EC) expert groups and committees. These groups advise the EC on the drafting of new laws, which the EU Council of Ministers and the European Parliament subsequently adopt. The participation of EEA EFTA experts and representatives in over 500 of these committees and groups is a valuable opportunity to acquire information and contribute to new legislative proposals at the earliest stages of policy formation (EFTA, 2014). This, however, means that the EEA EFTA states need to allocate sufficient human resources to take full advantage of this opportunity and this has been a challenge for Iceland. The EEA Agreement is supported with its own institutions and a formal cooperative mechanism vis-a-vis the EU institutions. Thus, the mechanism for decision shaping has been formalised and if used wisely can enable the EEA EFTA states become system-affecting in some cases (see Figure 2). 57

58 Hilmar Þór Hilmarsson SHOULD ICELAND SEEK EUROPEN UNION AND EURO AREA MEMBERSHIP? Figure 2. Decision shaping under the Two-Pillar Structure under the EEA Agreement. The EEA Agreement established EEA EFTA bodies to match those on the EU side Source: EFTA, The Icelandic economy and its changing structure As stated above, Iceland is an open economy that participates in major European cooperative projects, including EFTA, EEA, Schengen, as well as NATO. Moreover, it is an active participant in cooperation within the Nordic Region. The Icelandic economy is the smallest within the OECD. Its size is about 0.1 % of the US economy, 4 % of the Danish economy, and 25 % of the economy of Luxembourg, while it is more than 50 % larger than the economy of Malta (CBI, 2014). Iceland is classified by the World Bank as a high income economy but the small size of its economy reflects the country s small population which was on January 1, Iceland is considered to be a Nordic country and has the characteristics of a Nordic welfare state. For instance, Gross National Income (GNI) per capita measured in terms of Purchasing Power Parities (PPP), according to the World Bank data, amounted to nearly 39 thousand US dollars in 2013, the twenty-second highest in the world and the thirteenth highest among the OECD countries. Iceland s GNI per capita is lower than that in Denmark, Norway, and Sweden but marginally higher than in Finland and slightly above the EU average (CIB, 2014). Historically, Iceland s prosperity to a large extent has been built on its comparative advantage in the marine and energy sectors (hydro and geothermal power), with investment and services as the main drivers of growth. Tourism has soared over the past few years and has become one of the main engines of export growth. In fact, tourism has established itself as the third pillar of the Icelandic economy (in addition to the fisheries and energy sectors), and as a result, Iceland s economy has become better diversified. Currently, the largest Iceland s trading partner countries are the Netherlands, Germany, Norway, the US, and the UK (CIB, 2014). The Euro area constitutes the largest trading area. 58

59 ISSN (Print), ISSN (Online). Regional Formation and Development Studies, No. 1 (21) Table 2. Iceland: General Information Name Iceland Government Constitutional Republic Head of State President Head of Government Prime Minister Official Language Icelandic Capital Reykjavík Area Km2 Population (January 1, 2015) Population Density 3.1 Currency Icelandic króna (ISK) Sources: official government websites. Over the past 10 years, the Icelandic labour market has had a participation rate consistently above 85%, one of the highest among the OECD countries. In 2013, female participation was one of the highest in the OECD countries, with women accounting for 48% of the labour force. Participation rates among the young and the elderly have also been quite high (CIB, 2014). Similarly, unemployment has been low too compared to EU member states and currently is about 4%. Though Iceland participates in European integration via the EFTA and the EEA agreement, its history shows that the country is sceptical about the benefits deriving from participation in international organizations and has not built a strong institutional capacity to cooperate on a multilateral basis. However, this is not the only true reason if one considers the EU membership scepticism. Besides, Iceland has not sought membership in as many institutions where other Nordic countries actively participate in, including the regional development banks 6. Therefore, Iceland tends to favour more informal multilateral arrangements, bilateralism and sometimes unilateralism during times of crisis (e.g., Hilmarsson, 2014; Dinh and Hilmarsson, 2012). Then again this contradicts the small states theories discussed above. 4. The global financial crisis and recent post crisis economic performance Iceland was among the hardest hit economies during the global economic and financial crisis that erupted in Prior to the crisis Iceland had experienced strong economic growth and unprecedented expansion in cross-border investments, especially in the financial sector (e.g., Hilmarsson, 2013a and 2013b). According to the IMF, the consolidated assets of the three main Icelandic banks increased from 100% of GDP in 2004 to 923% at the end of 2007, reflecting expansion overseas. Therefore, by the end of 2007, almost 50% of the three largest banks assets were held abroad (IMF, 2008: 11). The banks had been privatized several years before the crisis with a light touch regulation and weak supervision in the spirit of laissez-faire policies. Before the crisis the government of Iceland publicly announced its ambition to turn Iceland into an international financial centre. However, the three largest banks, representing about 85 % of the banking system, all collapsed in just a few days in October The whole economy was severely affected by this economic turbulence. As a result, the Icelandic krona sharply depreciated, GDP fell, and inflation as well as unemployment rose, and the government ran large fiscal deficits in the aftermath of the crisis (see Table 3). Unlike some EU member states, where the fixed exchange rate regime and austerity programs were implemented, the Icelandic government sought to protect the welfare system resulting in large fiscal deficit which hoped to be only temporary. Sharp depreciation of the local currency was expected to boost exports and GDP growth like it happened, for example, in Finland and Sweden in the early 1990s (e.g., Hilmarsson, 2014). 6 Those are the African Development Bank, the Asian Development Bank, and the Inter-American Development Bank. 59

60 Hilmar Þór Hilmarsson SHOULD ICELAND SEEK EUROPEN UNION AND EURO AREA MEMBERSHIP? Table 3. Iceland: selected economic indicators 2007 to 2014 (Percent change) Gross domestic product 1/ Unemployment rate 2/ Consumer price index (average) (Percent of GDP) General government balance 3/ Current account balance / Constant prices 2/ In percent of labour force 3/ National account basis Source: IMF 2010, 2012, 2015a, 2015b and the World Economic Outlook Database Nevertheless, after almost seven years since the crisis hit, Iceland has reached a relatively strong macroeconomic position with good growth prospects (see Tables 3 and 4). Fiscal and external balances are now in surplus and economic activity, according to the IMF, will surpass its pre-crisis peak in According to the Central Bank of Iceland, the post-crisis contraction in GDP has reversed in full (CBI, 2015). Public debt is on a downward sustainable path. Moreover, unemployment continues to trend down, now reaching 4%. Though growth slowed last year but it is expected to rise up to around 3% over , supported by the robust domestic demand and tourism. Consumption has been boosted by the household debt relief and, together with net trade, have benefited from favourable commodity prices (IMF, 2015). The IMF projects GDP growth to be 3.2 in 2016 (see Table 4). However, there are increasing concerns that economic stability may be threatened with the current demand of salary increases well beyond the current growth rate. Large salary increase could undermine economic recovery and the competitive position of the economy, and lead to a reduction in employment (CIB, 2015). In addition, the government has been criticized for granting debt relief to households that to a large extent could have serviced their debt without such relief. This effort is also seen as discriminatory against those households who chose to rent their housing and socially vulnerable families who may be in greater need of assistance than homeowners. Amid low unemployment, wage pressures are building. There is a risk that hardly earned post-crisis macro stability may be lost if increases in salaries go out of control, followed by rising inflation, like it has repeatedly happened in Iceland over the decades. Table 4. Iceland: selected economic indicators 2014 to 2016 Estimate and Projections (Percent change) p Gross domestic product 1/ Unemployment rate 2/ Consumer price index (average) (Percent of GDP) General government balance 3/ Current account balance / Constant prices 2/ In percent of labour force 3/ National account basis p/ Projections Source: IMF 2015a, 2015b and the World Economic Outlook Database According to the IMF, The outlook for growth is positive. The economy will grow at around 3 percent during under baseline assumptions of large energy-intensive investment projects, robust growth in private consumption boosted by household debt relief, and further expansion of the tourism sector. Terms of trade, consumption, and growth in 2015 will benefit from a sharp decline in oil prices. Investment will be funded by FDI, retained earnings, and, increasingly over time, borrowing. Inflation is expected to stay below 60

61 ISSN (Print), ISSN (Online). Regional Formation and Development Studies, No. 1 (21) 1 percent this year and rise gradually to target by the end of 2016, as the effects from imported deflation and currency appreciation dissipate and pressures from wages and a closing output gap mount (IMF, 2015: 7). The Central Bank of Iceland projects stronger GDP growth rate than the IMF at 3.5% in 2016 (CIB, 2015). The Icelandic economy is still vulnerable, but better diversification, including in sectors generating foreign exchange, helps maintain stability. In its discussions with the IMF the government has expressed deep concerns about the upcoming collective wage bargaining round and implications for stability. Price stability is still within the target of the Central Bank of Iceland and is helped by disinflation in key trading partners, particularly the euro area, a slump in oil prices, and an appreciating currency in the context of high exchange rate pass-through. However, this can change quickly as it was discussed above. Iceland has been under capital controls for almost seven years. Strong macroeconomic fundamentals and the healthy financial sector is among the keys for successful capital account liberalization. As the IMF has recently stated, Liberalization of the capital account under a revised strategy could pick up pace, boosting confidence and private investment and raising long-term growth but missteps could lead to a disorderly unwinding or even prolonged controls. Wage demands in the upcoming round of collective bargaining could lead to further strikes, and resulting wage hikes could increase inflation and weaken competitiveness (IMF, 2015b). Thus, the question remains: Have Icelanders learned anything from the past or will the economy return to the boom and bust scenario yet again as it have been for decades and was most recently during the 2008 crisis? 5. Possible benefits and disadvantages of Iceland joining the European Union and the Euro Area 5.1. Benefits Among the key benefits of joining the EU is the access to the common market. Iceland has already enjoyed this benefit via the EEA agreement, i.e., free flow of goods, services, capital and people across national borders. Iceland was also able to avoid the collapse of the Nordic Passport Union due to its membership in Schengen. Yet it has enjoyed many of the benefits (some would say most) of economic integration without EU membership and can thus to some degree both eat the cake and keep it. In the future there could be questions about the EEA sustainability. Will the EU still respect the EEA agreement in the coming decades or is it only a temporary arrangement? Here partnership with Norway in the EEA EFTA is critical. If Norway became a member of the EU, Iceland would hardly have the capacity to engage in negotiations with the EU alone with Lichtenstein. Being a member of the EU Iceland could be more confident that the benefits of the access to the single market would be in place in the longer term. The membership would also ensure regular consultations and participation in the EU decision making instead of continuing instructions via from Brussels. Regular consultations could help a small country with limited institutional capacity to increase professionalism. Moreover, EU membership could possibly shield Iceland during times of crisis, economically and in terms of security. There is greater need for the outside support/shield given weaker ties with the USA during the post-cold war. Closer cooperation with EU member states and support from EU institutions could contribute to stability, as Iceland has a history of economic boom and bust. However, the risks associated with a small population, including close ties among individuals that can result in corruption and rent seeking, could be reduced. During the 2008 crisis there was certain loss of confidence in the Icelandic political and institutional system. General elections took place in the spring of 2009 and the EU application followed three months later. This is hardly a coincidence. EU membership would mean that Iceland after two years of membership could possibly join the Euro Area. Currently, Iceland does not participate in the EU s monetary system, therefore, cannot adopt the euro and also remain in good standing with the EU. The adoption of the euro unilaterally does not seem like a viable option (e.g., Buiter, 2000 and ECB, 2008). The exchange rate of the local currency fluctuated greatly 61

62 Hilmar Þór Hilmarsson SHOULD ICELAND SEEK EUROPEN UNION AND EURO AREA MEMBERSHIP? in the past and during the 2008 capital controls, which were introduced as a temporary measure. Capital controls are still in place, almost seven years after the crisis, but the government has recently announced plans to abolish those controls Disadvantages In Iceland there is a concern about the EU s Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) and Common Agriculture Policy (CAP). These potentially most difficult chapters, on the CAP and CFP, were not opened during accession negotiations so it is impossible to say if a compromise could have been reached and at what cost for Iceland. Furthermore, the nation is divided in its support. The EU membership has stronger support by employers outside the fishing industry and agriculture. The political importance of agriculture sector in Iceland is much greater than its economic contribution would suggest. By staying out of the EU Iceland avoids implementing the CFP and CAP of the EU. If Iceland becomes a member of the EU, its influence within such a large institutional structure would be minimal. In fact, given its small size influence via membership would be a token benefit only. Iceland would also have a tiny weight in the Euro Area economy should it adopt the euro. A common currency would have limited Iceland s possibilities to respond to the 2008 crisis when depreciation of the króna played an important role in bringing about the adjustment of Iceland s trade deficit. Small states have experienced difficulties in dealing with the larger EU states and EU institutions and this became clear during the 2008 crisis. Large EU states, supported by EU institutions, do not hesitate to use strong arm tactics against small states. An example of this is the EU s handling of the crisis in Ireland and Latvia. The UK and the Netherlands, supported by the EU also used strong arm tactics against Iceland during the so called Icesave dispute. The Icesave dispute had negative effects on the sentiments in Iceland towards the EU and the European nations, including the Nordic countries (who supported the Netherlands and the UK in its dispute with Iceland during the crisis). When discussing Iceland s response to the crisis the European Central Bank comments as follows: When Iceland s policy response in the wake of the crisis is compared with that of other affected countries, there are two measures that stand out most. First, Iceland introduced capital controls to protect itself from the worst repercussions of the sudden reversal of capital flows that it faced at the end of 2008, a strategy that has possibly aided its subsequent recovery. However, as time goes by, evidence is mounting regarding the distortive and often detrimental effects that these restrictions are having on the decision-making of economic agents and the difficulties that Iceland s authorities face in decisively reducing the substantial stock of krónur that continues to be held offshore and returning to a fully liberalized capital account in the near future. Second, Iceland decided not to nationalize the debts of its oversized banking sector, instead opting to inflict losses on its financial institutions creditors and foreign depositors. Although this saved the government from assuming liabilities that would potentially have been beyond its debt-servicing capacity, it also opened the door to a series of legal challenges (with final decisions still pending in some instances), thereby introducing a significant degree of uncertainty for authorities, businesses, foreign investors and the general public (ECB 2012: 97). However, the talks about a series of legal challenges and a significant degree of uncertainty for authorities could be viewed as comment or advice from the EU, but one also could view this comment as a threat. A small nation that does not yield to the EU and its larger member states will sooner or later suffer the consequences. To give an illustration, the case of Latvia and Ireland comes into mind. Such comments or threats are not likely to increase confidence in the EU in Iceland. Eventually, the Icesave dispute went to the EFTA Court 7 were Iceland came out as the winning party. After receiving the court ruling the Icelandic Ministry for Foreign Affairs commented as follows: The 7 The EFTA Court, based in Luxembourg, corresponds to the Court of Justice of the European Union in matters relating to the EEA EFTA States. The Court deals with infringement actions brought by ESA against an EEA EFTA State with regard to the implementation, application or interpretation of an EEA rule. The Court also handles the 62

63 ISSN (Print), ISSN (Online). Regional Formation and Development Studies, No. 1 (21) EFTA Court ruling on Icesave rejected all claims by the EFTA Surveillance Authority that Iceland should be declared in breach of the EEA Agreement. The Court rejected the claim that Iceland has breached the Deposit Guarantee Directive or has discriminated against depositors contrary to EEA law. It is a considerable satisfaction that Iceland s defence has won the day in the Icesave case; the EFTA Court ruling brings to a close an important stage in a long saga (Ministry for Foreign Affairs, 2013). Thus, had Iceland yielded to EU demands, this could have brought its debts to an unsustainable level. Several scholars have commented on the damaging effect that the Icesave dispute had on Iceland s sentiments towards the EU. Professor Gylfi Magnússon, who served as a Minister for Economic Affairs in the government coalition after the crisis hit, commented as follows: The governments of Britain and the Netherlands have not directly linked the dispute about Icesave to Iceland s application for membership of the EU, but individual politicians in these countries, especially the Netherlands, have done so, e.g., encouraged their countries to oppose the progression of the application unless Iceland accedes to their demands. Understandably, such threats are very hard for Icelanders to swallow and they have undermined support for EU membership in Iceland. The Icesave dispute has undoubtedly had a very negative effect on many Icelanders attitudes to other European nations and the EU and has fuelled nationalism and isolationism (Magnusson, 2010). Thorhallsson and Rebhan comment as follows:...while Iceland struggled to obtain assistance from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Britain and the Netherlands allegedly blocked such assistance on a number of occasions, with the formal and informal approval of other European states (Thorhallsson and Rebhan, 2011). It is hard to be impressed with the EU s handling of its post crisis problems. Currently, one can say that the EU is faced with three crises: (i) a financial crisis, including a banking and a debt crisis; (ii) an economic policy crisis, including austerity programs, cutting welfare programs and increasing taxes; and (iii) a political crisis, where market forces compete against democracy. The post crisis economic performance in the EU is characterized by slow economic growth and long term employment (especially among the youth) and increasing income inequality. It is unlikely that Iceland will want to join during this current period of uncertainty. Conclusions The Icelandic economy is recovering from the 2008 global economic and financial crisis and, according to the IMF, is expected to surpass the pre-crisis GDP levels in According to the Central Bank of Iceland, this has already happened. The current economic growth is healthy and unemployment is low compared with high income EU countries. The economy is now better diversified than it was a decade ago. In terms of foreign exchange revenues it is based mainly on the three main pillars: (i) the traditional fisheries sector; (ii) aluminium production using domestic clean energy sources; and (iii) a flourishing tourism sector. Though challenges remain, including the removal of capital controls imposed during the crisis and salary increases that could result in inflation above the Central bank of Iceland inflation target. After the 2008 crisis there was certain loss in confidence in the Icelandic institutional systems leading to the EU application submitted by the government in July One can argue that this included the recognition that Iceland needs to be shielded by stronger, more competent and less corrupt institutions and that EU membership could provide that shield and increase professionalism. The sharp depreciation of the domestic currency, króna, during the crisis and its historic fluctuations and loss of value over the decades due to monetary mismanagement also called for the adoption of a new currency where the euro would be the most likely option. However, euro adoption would require EU membership and a two year period demonstrating sound economic management according to the EU criteria. While unilateral adoption of the euro is possible in theory, it seems unrealistic politically and is strongly opposed by the EU. Furthermore, a common currency would have limited Iceland s possibilities to respond to the 2008 settlement of disputes between two or more EEA EFTA States. It hears appeals against decisions taken by ESA and gives advisory opinions to courts in the EEA EFTA States on the interpretation of EEA rules (EFTA, 2014). 63

64 Hilmar Þór Hilmarsson SHOULD ICELAND SEEK EUROPEN UNION AND EURO AREA MEMBERSHIP? crisis when depreciation of the króna played an important role in bringing about the adjustment of Iceland s trade deficit. The so-called Icesave dispute with the UK and the Netherlands appears to have had damaging effect on how Icelanders view the European Union. The perceived EU backing of claims from the UK and the Netherlands has changed the way Icelanders view the EU and the European countries, thus public support for the EU membership is low in the post crisis. The government that took office in May 2013 has withdrawn the EU application and informed the EU that Iceland should no longer be considered an EU candidate country. After all national support for the EU accession remains low according to the recent public opinion polls. Low economic growth, high unemployment and dysfunctional EU institutional systems, including the vulnerable euro also makes the EU less attractive. There are also issues related to cohesion and stability within the EU with the southern Europe performing poorly compared to the northern Europe. The chapters on agriculture and fisheries policy were not opened during the EU accession negotiations, thus the most challenging for Iceland issues, related to the accession, were not even discussed and it remains unknown if the acceptable solution can be found and how it would look like. Obviously, Iceland benefits from the access to the EU common market via the EEA agreement, enjoying gains from trade and economies of scale. This is possible as long as the EU is willing to respect the EEA agreement and as long as Norway is part in the EEA agreement. However, without Norway, Iceland would not have an institutional capacity to cooperate with the EU under the agreement and given the small size of Iceland and Lichtenstein it is doubtful if the EU would be interested in such cooperation. Surely, should Iceland become a member of the EU, the union would only give a small weight to Iceland in its decision making given its small population and economic size. This would also apply to the ECB if Iceland eventually became a member of the Euro Area. According to Keohane s theory, Iceland as an EU member would fall under system-ineffectual states category, i.e., those states that can do little to influence the system-wide forces that affect them, except in groups which are so large that each state has minimal influence. Iceland could strive to become a system-affecting state, i.e., among those states that cannot affect the international system if acting alone, but could exert some impact on the system by working through small groups or alliances. Cooperation with likeminded nations, especially the Scandinavian countries and to some extent the Baltic States, could be an option to consider. These countries, for example, cooperate within the World Bank, the IMF and the EBRD (e.g., Hilmarsson, 2011). However, experience shows that during times of crisis Iceland cannot rely on support from these small states that are more likely to follow their own interest or that of larger and more powerful EU member states. This became clear during the 2008 crisis when the Nordic countries also did not support Iceland strongly during the fisheries disputes with the UK. Iceland has always been reluctant to participate in international organizations unless benefits from such participation are clear, such as in NATO that also involved a bilateral defence agreement with the USA with both security and economic benefits attached. Unlike the other Nordic countries the government has not build strong capacity to cooperate with international organizations and has preferred less formal structures and lower level of economic and political integration by being a member of EFTA and the EEA agreement. One can argue that a small country like Iceland needs a shield in post crisis when it no longer benefits from strong bilateral relations with the USA, a system-determining country. History shows that Iceland preferred to use bilateral relations in solving its problems in the past and during crisis sometimes makes unilateral moves. In crisis situations Iceland has not hesitated to take actions against larger nations or group of nations, including the so called Cod Wars and the 2008 global crisis. These unilateral actions have been successful. This contradicts the small states literature, which generally claims that it is beneficial for small states to concentrate on multilateral relations within international organizations. The Icesave dispute also shows that the EU shield can have a high cost when the EU supports the claim of larger EU nations like during the Icesave dispute. Furthermore, the experience of Latvia and Ireland during the 2008 crisis further confirms that the EU shield can come at a high cost. The question about the most feasible arrangement for Iceland s prosperity in the long term still remains? Partly this depends on whether the access to the common market remains via the EEA agreement. The slow 64

65 ISSN (Print), ISSN (Online). Regional Formation and Development Studies, No. 1 (21) growth, high unemployment and the ongoing crisis in some EU member states do not make EU membership attractive at least in the short term. Joining the Euro area would hardly be feasible unilaterally and adoption of the euro would be unlikely to take place until about two years after the EU accession. EFTA membership and the EEA agreement appear to be the best arrangement for Iceland at present. The EEA agreement decision shaping under the two-pillar structure of the EEA EFTA bodies that match those on the EU side has so far served well. The three EEA countries have some modest influence under this system and this arrangement ensures access to the internal EU market. This can change in the medium or long-term and the decision made by the government of Iceland that Iceland should not be considered a candidate or potential EU candidate country was unwise. Iceland should not burn any bridges given how quickly the global environment can change. References Buiter, W. H. (2000). Is Iceland an Optimal Currency Area? Central Bank of Iceland. Working Paper, No. 10. Available at: [Accessed on April 28, 2016]. Central Bank of Iceland, CIB. (2015). Monetary Bulletin, Vol. 17, No. 2, 13 May. Available at: publications/publications/publication/2015/05/14/may-2015/ [Accessed on May 26, 2016]. Central Bank of Iceland, CIB. (2014). Economy of Iceland. Available at: [Accessed on May 26, 2016]. Czinkota, M. R., Ronkainen, I. A., Moffett, M. H., Marinova, S., Marionv, M. (2009). International Business. European Edition. John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. England. Dinh, T. Q., Hilmarsson, H. Þ. (2012). Private Sector Export to Emerging Market Economies During Times of Crisis: How Can Export Credit Agencies Help? Review of International Comparative Management, Vol. 13, Issue 1, March, p European Central Bank, ECB. (2012). Recent Economic and Financial Developments in EU Candidate Countries. ECB Monthly Bulletin November Available at: pp87-104en.pdf) ECB [Accessed on April 18, 2016]. European Central Bank, ECB. (2008). The adoption of the euro: principles, procedures and criteria Speech by Jürgen Stark, Member of the Executive Board of the ECB delivered at the Icelandic Chamber of Commerce Reykjavik, 13 February. Available at: [Accessed on April 18, 2016]. EFTA. (2014). This is EFTA. Available at: [Accessed on March 5, 2016]. Evans, G., Newnham, J. (1998). The Penguin Dictionary of International Relations. London: Penguin Books. Hilmarsson, H. Þ. (2014). Small States in a Global Economy Crisis, Cooperation and Contributions. Series on Economic Issues, Problems and Perspectives. Nova Science Publishers, Inc. Hilmarsson, H. Þ. (2013a). The Banking Crisis in Iceland: Did the Government Pretend that Facts from Reality were Other than they Were? In T. Vissak, M. Vadi (eds.). (Dis)Honesty in Management. Advanced Series in Management, Vol. 10, p Emerald Group Publishing Limited, doi: /s (2013) Hilmarsson, H. Þ. (2013b). Small states and big banks the case of Iceland. Baltic Journal of Economics Taylor & Francis Routledge, Vol. 13(1), p Hilmarsson, H. (2011). How can the Baltic States as Non-DAC donors best contribute to international development cooperation? Baltic Journal of Economics Taylor & Francis Routledge, Vol. (2), p Hoadley, J. S. (1980). Small states as aid donors. International Organizations, Vol. 31, 1, Winter, p Available at: [Accessed on April 1, 2016]. IMF. (2015a). IMF Executive Board Concludes 2014 Article IV Consultation and Fifth Post-Program Monitoring Discussion with Iceland. Available at: [Accessed on May 2, 2016]. IMF. (2015b). Iceland: 2014 Article IV Consultation and Fifth Post-Program Monitoring. Discussions-Staff Report; Press Release; and Statement by the Executive Director for Iceland. Available at: pubs/cat/longres.aspx?sk= [Accessed on May 3, 2015]. IMF. (2012). Iceland: Staff Report for the 2012 Article IV Consultation and First Post-Program Monitoring Discussion. Available at: [Accessed on May 3, 2016]. 65

66 Hilmar Þór Hilmarsson SHOULD ICELAND SEEK EUROPEN UNION AND EURO AREA MEMBERSHIP? IMF. (2010). Iceland: 2010 Article IV Consultation and Third Review under Stand-By Arrangement and Request for Modification of Performance Criteria-Staff Report; Staff Supplement; Public Information Notice and Press Release on the Executive Board Discussion; and Statement by the Executive Director for Iceland. Available at: [Accessed on May 3, 2016]. IMF. (2008). Iceland: Financial system stability assessment Update. Available at: ft/scr/2008/cr08368.pdf [Accessed on May 3, 2016]. Ingebritsen, C. (2006). Scandinavia in world politics. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers. Institute of Economic Studies at the University of Iceland. (2014). Status of the accession negotiation between Iceland and the EU. Available at: [Accessed on April 29, 2016]. Kahler, M. (1992). Multilateralism with small and large numbers. International Organizations, Vol. 46, No. 3, p Available at: [Accessed on April 1, 2015]. Keohane, R. O. (1969). Lilliputians Dilemmas: Small States in International Politics. International Organizations, Vol. 23, No. 2, p Maass, M. (2009). The elusive definition of the small state. International politics, Vol. 46(1), Available at: [Accessed on April 2, 2016]. Magnusson, G. (2010). Iceland and the importance of becoming a member of the EU family. Available at: atvinnuvegaraduneyti.is/radherra/raedurgm/nr/2826 [Accessed on March 5, 2016]. Ministry for Foreign Affairs. (2015). Letter from the Minister for Foreign Affairs to the European Commission. Available at: [Accessed on April 27, 2016]. Ministry for Foreign Affairs. (2013). Iceland welcomes acquittal in Icesave case. Available at: [Accessed on April 29, 2016]. Thorhallsson, B., Rebhan, C. (2011). Iceland s Crash and Integration Takeoff: An End to European Union Scepticism? Scandinavian Political Studies, Vol. 34, No. 1, p Available at: j x/abstract [Accessed on April 6, 2016]. Thorhallsson, B. (2005). What features determine small states activities in the international arena? Iceland s approach to foreign relations until the mid-1990s. Stjórnmál og stjórnsýsla Veftímarit, Stofnun stjórnmála og stjórnsýslu, Háskóli Íslands, Vol. 1: 1, p Available at: [Accessed on May 6, 2016]. Yin, R. K. (2009). Case Study Research. Design and Methods. 4th ed. Vol. 5. California: SAGE Inc. AR ISLANDIJA TURĖTŲ STOTI Į EUROPOS SĄJUNGĄ IR PRISIJUNGTI PRIE EURO ZONOS? Hilmar Þór Hilmarsson Akureyri universitetas (Islandija) Santrauka Islandija yra maža, bet daug išteklių turinti Europos šalis, labai priklausoma nuo užsienio prekybos. Remiantis Pasaulio Banko klasifikacijomis, nors Islandijoje yra tik 300 tūkstančių šalies gyventojų, šios šalies finansinės institucijos daro įtaką pasaulio finansinėms institucijoms. Islandija yra mažiausia šalis tarptautinio ekonominio bendradarbiavimo ir plėtros organizacijoje (OECD). Ji labai priklausoma nuo prekybos su užsieniu, ypač Europos Sąjunga, kur ekonominė ir politinė integracija stiprėja. Todėl klausimas, koks tolesnis bendradarbiavimo būdas yra geriausias Islandijai, tampa vis svarbesnis. Islandija priklauso Europos laisvosios prekybos asociacijai (ELPA), Europos ekonominei zonai (EEA) ir iki šiol buvo Šengeno zonos bei Europos Sąjungos kandidatė, kai valdžia nusprendė pasitraukti iš ES narystės derybų. Priklausymas Europos ekonominei zonai garantuoja Islandijos prieigą prie ES rinkos. Vis dėlto klausimas, koks kelias naudingesnis Islandijai, išlieka. Islandija turėtų toliau būti priklausoma nuo 66

67 ISSN (Print), ISSN (Online). Regional Formation and Development Studies, No. 1 (21) dabartinio sutarimo ar siekti narystės ES ir galbūt netgi tapti euro zonos dalimi? Kokie galimi pliusai ir minusai stojant į ES ir prisijungiant prie Euro zonos? Galima teigti, kad tokiai mažai valstybei kaip Islandija reikia apsaugos pokriziniu laikotarpiu, kai santykiai su JAV, sistemą nulemiančia šalimi, nebėra tokie naudingi. Istorija rodo, kad Islandija dažnai būdavo linkusi naudotis abipusę naudą teikiančiais sprendimais, bet krizės laikotarpiu priimdavo ir vienpusiškus sprendimus, priešingus didesnių valstybių ar jų grupių interesams. Pavyzdžiui, vadinamuoju Menkių karo ar 2008 metų finansinės krizės laikotarpiais. Šiais atvejais tokie sprendimai šaliai buvo naudingi. Tačiau tie rezultatai neatitinka pasaulinių mažų valstybių gyvavimo pavyzdžių, dažniausiai teigiančių, kad mažos valstybės turėtų rūpintis internacionaliniais santykiais, padedamos internacionalinių organizacijų. Icesave nesutarimas (išsaugoti Islandiją) taip pat atskleidžia, kad ES skydas gali labai daug kainuoti, ES labiau orientuojantis į didesnių valstybių interesus. Latvijos ir Airijos patirtys 2008 metų globalios finansinės krizės laikotarpiu rodo, kad ES skydas gali būti per brangus. PAGRINDINIAI ŽODŽIAI: ekonominė integracija, mažos valstybės, Islandija, globali krizė, ekonominė politika. JEL KLASIFIKACIJA: F15, H12, E6 Received: Revised: Accepted:

68 Deimena Kiyak, Linara Pranckevičiūtė, Ieva Volskytė VARTOTOJŲ ELGSENOS RENKANTIS ODONTOLOGŲ PASLAUGAS TEIKIANČIĄ ĮSTAIGĄ TYRIMAS VAKARŲ LIETUVOJE VARTOTOJŲ ELGSENOS RENKANTIS ODONTOLOGŲ PASLAUGAS TEIKIANČIĄ ĮSTAIGĄ TYRIMAS VAKARŲ LIETUVOJE Deimena Kiyak 1, Linara Pranckevičiūtė 2, Ieva Volskytė 3 Klaipėdos universitetas (Lietuva) ANOTACIJA Straipsnyje analizuojami teoriniai vartotojų elgseną paslaugų sektoriuje lemiantys veiksniai. Šiandienos visuomenėje ypač svarbus yra vartotojo individualumas bei įmonės gebėjimas prisitaikyti prie besikeičiančių kiekvieno kliento poreikių. Teorinė analizė atskleidė, kad medicininių įstaigų veiklos kokybės įvertinimas yra pacientų pasitenkinimas suteiktomis paslaugomis. Remiantis atlikto tyrimo rezultatais išskiriami ir apibendrinami aplinkos veiksniai, kurie turi tendenciją vyrauti daugelio pacientų elgsenoje bei sprendimo priėmimo situacijose, renkantis odontologinių medicininių paslaugų teikėją Vakarų Lietuvoje. Privačių klinikų pasirinkimą lemia paslaugų pasiūla ir prieinamumas, fizinė aplinka, įstaigos veiklos vertinimas bei vidinės nuostatos. Viešas klinikas renkasi mažesnes pajamas gaunantys respondentai. PAGRINDINIAI ŽODŽIAI: medicininių paslaugų vertinimas, odontologų paslaugos, vartotojų elgsenos tyrimas. JEL KLASIFIKACIJA: D100; I110; M300 DOI: Įvadas Tiek Lietuvos, tiek užsienio autoriai savo darbuose analizuoja vartotojo fenomeną ir jo poveikį rinkodaros teorijai. S. Coyles ir T. C. Gokey (2005), K. Zikienė (2009) pažymi, kad analizuojant vartotojo elgseną ypač svarbus jo lojalumas prekės ženklui, konkrečiai paslaugai / produktui. Būtent tai dažnai nulemia ir vartojimo intensyvumą bei produkto / paslaugos sėkmę. Vis dėlto lojalumas nėra vienodas. Negalima suskirstyti vartotojų tiesiog į lojalius ir nelojalius. Dažniausia skiriami šeši pagrindiniai vartotojų lojalumo laipsniai: emociškai lojalūs, inertiški, lojalūs svarstantys vartotojai, vartotojai, kurių sprendimą nulemia kintančios gyvenimo sąlygos, nuolat svarstantys ir nepatenkinti. Žinant, kuriai grupei priklauso tikslinis vartotojas, galima lengviau suprasti jo elgseną ir įtaigiau, sėkmingiau jį paveikti, siekiant gamintojui / paslaugos teikėjui palankiausio bei efektyviausio rezultato minimaliai investuojant. A. Pabedinskaitė, V. Šliažaitė (2012), V. Juščius, I. Viskantaitė (2010) savo darbuose pažymi, kad vartotojui didelę įtaką daro jo gyvenimo būdas ir ankstesnės patirtys. Dažnai vartotojo nepasiekia rinkodaros priemonėmis siunčiama informacija vien dėl 1 Deimena Kiyak daktarė, docentė (socialiniai mokslai, ekonomika), Klaipėdos universiteto Ekonomikos katedra Mokslinės veiklos kryptys: finansai, apskaita, kainodara, finansinė-ekonominė analizė El. paštas: deimena.kiyak@gmail.com Tel Linara Pranckevičiūtė doktorantė (socialiniai mokslai, ekonomika), Klaipėdos universiteto Ekonomikos katedra Mokslinės veiklos kryptys: apskaita, kainodara, ekonomikos globalizacija, ekonominė analizė El. paštas: linara.pranckevičiūtė@gmail.com Tel Ieva Volskytė Klaipėdos universiteto Ekonomikos katedros magistrantė (socialiniai mokslai, ekonomika) 68

69 ISSN (Print), ISSN (Online). Regional Formation and Development Studies, No. 1 (21) to, kad tai nepritaikyta prie vartotojo gyvenimo būdo arba paprasčiausiai vartotojas nesąmoningai, kartais ir sąmoningai, blokuoja informaciją dėl ankstesnių neigiamų patirčių ar nenoro priimti kažką naujo. R. Urbanskienė, B. Clottey ir J. Jakštys (2000), V. Pruskus (2007), R. Naktinytė ir J. Vainikonytė (2012), I. Daunorienė ir R. Navickienė (2013) savo moksliniuose straipsniuose pabrėžia vartotojo elgsenos pakitimus ir priežastis. Dabartiniame amžiuje žmogų pasiekia labai daug informacijos, gerokai daugiau nei anksčiau. Vartotojas tampa išmanančiu, suvokiančiu ir žinančiu, ko jis nori, ko jam reikia. Produkto / paslaugos kaina pamažu praranda prasmę (ypač tai būdinga jaunajai kartai), nes vartotojas pasiryžta mokėti daugiau už papildomą produkto paslaugos vertę, sukuriamą įvaizdį visuomenėje, patenkintus lūkesčius. Jis nebėra tik pasyvus vartotojas. Jo vaidmuo rinkodaroje įgauna didesnę svarbą, jis pradeda atlikti kelias funkcijas / vaidmenis: pats ima dalyvauti produktų / paslaugų kūrimo procese, plėtojant jų vartojimo kultūrą. Analizuodamas konkrečiai medicinines paslaugas ir vartotojų elgseną jų atžvilgiu A. M. Mosadeghrad (2014) skiria pagrindinius 10 P kriterijus (paslauga / produktas, vieta, kaina, fizinė aplinka, darbuotojai, procesas, paslaugų pateikimas, įstaigos įvaizdis, pozicija, rėmimas), kurie veikia vartotoją (šiuo atveju pacientą) ir lemia paslaugų vertinimą daugiausia šališku vartotojų požiūriu. Vis dėlto, autoriaus nuomone, tai ne vieninteliai paciento elgseną veikiantys veiksniai. Pacientą, jo sprendimus veikia ir ankstesnės patirtys, jaučiamo skausmo intensyvumas, ligos sudėtingumas, panašūs dažniausiai su vartotojo savijauta bei sveikatos būkle susiję veiksniai. Problema. Medicininių paslaugų tinklas kasmet plečiasi: siūloma vis daugiau galimybių vartotojui gerinti jo sveikatos būklę ar savijautą / išvaizdą. Dėl naujų technologinių inovacijų, žinių ir jų pritaikymo, medicininių paslaugų naudojimas nebesuvokiamas vien tik kaip būtiniausia pagalba sunegalavus. Šalia būtinųjų medicininių paslaugų atsirado ir kitos su medikų žiniomis susijusios paslaugos (grožio chirurgija, nevaisingumo problemų sprendimas ir pan.). Taigi kartu su naujomis paslaugomis išaugo ir vartotojų poreikiai, kartu ir šias paslaugas teikiančių įstaigų skaičius. Analizuojant pacientų poreikius ir jų patenkinimo lygį galima pastebėti, kad daugelis medicininių paslaugų jau nuo seno buvo teikiamos tiek privačiame, tiek viešajame sektoriuose (tokios kaip odontologo paslaugos ar akių gydytojų konsultacijos jau yra įprastos). Dabartiniu laikotarpiu šių paslaugų skaičius auga. Žmogus renkasi eiti pas privačioje ar viešoje klinikoje dirbantį šeimos gydytoją, kur atliks kraujo ar kitus su jo savijauta susijusius tyrimus. Dažnas atvejis, kad tie patys gydytojai dirba tiek viešame, tiek ir privačiame sektoriuje, o ir pacientų eilės abiem atvejais būna labai panašios arba visiškai skirtingos. Taigi atsiranda galimybė ne tik rinktis gydytoją, norimą gauti paslaugą, bet ir tokios pačios paslaugos ir to paties gydytojo teikiamos paslaugos suteikimo įstaigą. Kartu privačiame medicinos sektoriuje pacientui, kuris priklauso viešai klinikai, suteikiama galimybė už tam tikrą kainą pasidaryti tyrimus privačioje klinikoje ir jų rezultatais pasidalinti su savo šeimos gydytoju (arba ne, nurodžius, kad tyrimo rezultatai būtų konfidencialūs ir jais su niekuo nesidalinama). Galima teigti, kad tarp privačių ir viešų klinikų egzistuoja tam tikra konkurencija dėl pacientų skaičiaus. Todėl visais galimais būdais stengiamasi pritraukti pacientą. Tai kas gi jį pritraukia? Kokie svarbiausi veiksniai lemia būsimo paciento apsisprendimą, jo elgseną? Šiuo metu vyrauja nuomonė, kad privačių klinikų paslaugų vartotojai yra dideles arba vidutines pajamas gaunantys jauni ar vidutinio amžiaus asmenys. Viešų klinikų paslaugomis naudojasi daugiausia žemas ir vidutines pajamas gaunantys, paprastai vyresnio amžiaus pacientai. Taigi vyrauja nuomonė, kad ekonominė vartotojų padėtis ir amžius yra pagrindinis veiksnys, lemiantis pacientų pasiskirstymą tarp viešų ir privačių klinikų. Vis dėlto kyla klausimas, ar tikrai tik ekonominis veiksnys lemia pacientų elgesį, kuris nulemia pasiskirstymą tarp viešų ir privačių klinikų? Kadangi nemažai klientų naudojasi tiek viešų, tiek privačių klinikų paslaugomis, taip teigti negalima. Todėl svarbu išsiaiškinti, kokie pagrindiniai veiksniai nulemia vartotojų elgesį renkantis medicininių paslaugų teikėją. Vyrauja nuomonė, kad pacientų pasiskirstymą lemia ekonominis veiksnys ir visuomenėje vyraujantys stereotipai apie viešų ir privačių klinikų paslaugas, jų kokybę. Vis dėlto pastebima tendencija, kad nemaža dalis pacientų naudojasi abiejų sektorių teikiamomis paslaugomis. Taigi kyla klausimas, kokie veiksniai iš tikrųjų lemia vartotojų elgesį renkantis medicinines paslaugas ir jų teikėją? Svarbu išskirti aplinkos veiksnius, kurie turi tendenciją vyrauti daugelio pacientų elgseną ir sprendimą nulemiančiose situacijose. 69

70 Deimena Kiyak, Linara Pranckevičiūtė, Ieva Volskytė VARTOTOJŲ ELGSENOS RENKANTIS ODONTOLOGŲ PASLAUGAS TEIKIANČIĄ ĮSTAIGĄ TYRIMAS VAKARŲ LIETUVOJE Tyrimo tikslas: apibendrinti veiksnius, kurie daro įtaką vartotojų elgsenai renkantis odontologinių medicininių paslaugų teikėją Vakarų Lietuvoje. Tyrimo metodai: mokslinės literatūros analizė ir sisteminimas, apžvalginis, iš dalies struktūruotas interviu, anketinis ir dokumentų analizės pagal informacijos fiksavimą metodai. 1. Vartotojų elgsenos paslaugų sektoriuje teoriniai aspektai Moderniame pasaulyje formuojasi nauja vartotojiška visuomenė, kuri tampa daug savarankiškesnė, nuolat ieškanti informacijos apie ją dominančias sritis bei jų atstovus ne tik iš oficialių šaltinių, bet ir iš ją supančios bendruomenės (Pruskus, 2007: 82). Vartotojai siekia daugiau laisvės ir nepriklausomybės, daug daugiau laiko skiria laisvalaikiui, savo individualumo saviraiškai, paslaugų / produktų vartojimas tampa gyvenimo būdu (Daunorienė ir kt., 2013: 66), vis svarbesnis tampa hedonistinis vartojimas, auksinį jaunimą pamažu keičia sidabrinė karta didžiausia brangesnių produktų ir paslaugų pirkėja (Naktinytė ir kt., 2012: 108). Keičiasi visuomenė, kinta ir rinkodaros priemonių taikymo ypatumai. Šiandieninis vartotojas įsigydamas tam tikrą paslaugą / produktą dažniausia kartu siekia ir savo kaip asmenybės savirealizacijos. Paprastai orientuojasi į statusą ir idėją. Todėl suteikiama paslaugos / produkto pridėtinė neapčiuopiama vertė turi didelės įtakos galutiniam vartotojo sprendimui. Taigi, žinant kokia asmenybė yra vartotojas, kokį savo portretą jis mato ir kaip nori pateikti save visuomenei, galima tinkamai sukurti pridėtinę paslaugos / produkto vertę, kartu didinti paklausą. Šiuo metu rinkodaros teorijoje dominuoja dvi vertės sampratos vertė vartotojui (angl. customer value) ir vartotojo vertė organizacijai (angl. customer lifetime value) (Vaitkienė ir kt., 2008: 46). Vis dėlto vertė vartotojui yra tarsi prielaida atsirasti kitai vertei. Sukuriamą vertę vartotojui galima suvokti kaip sukurtą prekės ženklo vertę jam. Prekės ženklo vertė gali būti suvokiama kaip ilgalaikės rinkodaros veiklos rezultatas, kuris sukuria pridėtinę prekės ženklo vertę vartotojui, suteikia asociacijų bei įvaizdžio tam tikrai vartotojų grupei išraišką, užtikrina tam tikrą vartotojo lojalumą (Vanagienė ir kt., 2008: 171; Černikovaitė, 2011: 970). Dažniausia tai neapčiuopiama ir sunkiai išmatuojama pridėtinė vertė vartotojui, kuri susideda iš prekės ženklo žinojimo ir jo įvaizdžio (Cedronas ir kt., 2012: 29). Pridėtinė vertė tai vertė vartotojui, kurią jis mano esant, jaučiant ir suteikiant aukščiausią pozicionavimą kitų alternatyvų atžvilgiu. Reikia pažymėti, kad vertės suvokimas yra gana subjektyvus aspektas, tam didžiulę įtaką daro vartotojo vertybių sistema, jo asmeniniai poreikiai, finansiniai ištekliai, vartojimo situacija ir pan. (Bagdonienė ir kt., 2007: 286). Vertės suvokimui įtakos turi ne tik vartotojo asmenybės bruožai, socialinė aplinka, bet didžiulę įtaką daro ir kultūra, kuri vartotoją ilgus metus supa: tai ir šeimos diegtos vertybės, visuomenei priimtinos normos, keliami tikslai ir pan. Kiekvienoje valstybėje dominuoja savita kultūra. Vis dėlto globalizacijos veikiamame pasaulyje dauguma šiuolaikinės kultūros normų būna labai panašios ir laikui bėgant mažai keičiasi. Tai, kas tam tikrai šaliai yra nepriimtina ir netinkama kultūroje, yra daug lengviau išsiaiškinti ir taip greitai nekinta (Chlivickas, 2013: 39). Taigi, norint suvokti, kokią papildomą paslaugos / produkto vertę reikia sukurti, privalu žinoti ne tik tai, kas vartotojo kultūrai priimtina, bet ir tai, kas atmestina. Kitas vartotoją veikiantis veiksnys tai laiko sąnaudos įsigyjant paslaugą / produktą. Nors vartotojui globalioje visuomenėje atsiveria daugiau galimybių renkant informaciją, kartu ir produktų / paslaugų rūšis, alternatyvas, tai iš jo atima nemažai laiko. Renkantis paslaugas / produktus veikia Hiko dėsnis: kuo daugiau variantų tuo ilgesnis sprendimų priėmimo procesas (Švedaitė, 2012: 36). Kadangi laikas šiandieniniame pasaulyje tampa brangia vertybe, vartotojas dažnai linkęs rinktis jau kartą išbandytus produktų / paslaugų teikėjus. Taigi jis tampa lojaliu tam tikrai paslaugai / produktui ar prekės ženklui, todėl jau žino, ko gali tikėtis, iš ko gali rinktis, sutrumpėja ir apsisprendimo laiko sąnaudos. Vienas iš būdų daryti įtaką vartotojų elgsenai paversti jį lojaliu klientu. Verta pažymėti, kad tikras lojalumas šiandieninėje visuomenėje gana sunkiai užtikrinamas, nes vartotojas vis dėlto labiau linkęs ieškoti jam geriausio ir priimtiniausio sprendimo, kartu produktu dažniau naudojasi iš įpratimo nei iš lojalumo prekės ženklui. Derėtų atkreipti dėmesį, kad lojalaus kliento suvokimas ne visada yra vienodas. Kaip teigia K. Zikienė (2010: 128), klientų lojalumo suvokimas yra dvejopas: bihevioristinė vartotojų lojalumo koncepcija, domi- 70

71 ISSN (Print), ISSN (Online). Regional Formation and Development Studies, No. 1 (21) navusi šeštajame XX a. dešimtmetyje, rėmėsi požiūriu, jog vartotojo lojalumas pasireiškia nuolatiniu to paties prekės ženklo pirkimu ar pastoviu pirkimu iš to paties tiekėjo, neobihevioristinis lojalumo apibrėžimas pažymi, kad faktinis lojalus elgesys atskleidžia konkretaus produkto / paslaugos įsigijimo intensyvumą per tam tikrą laikotarpį bei pirmenybės teikimas prekės ženklui pakartotinai įsigyjant produktą / paslaugą. Taigi pastaruoju apibrėžimu nagrinėjamas ne tik produkto paslaugos pakartotinio įsigijimo faktas, bet ir vartotojo elgsena, veiksniai, padarę įtaką jo požiūriui į tam tikrą prekės ženklą suteikiant jam pirmumą. Kartu ir tam tikras vartotojo prisirišimas prie konkrečios paslaugos / produkto ar prekės ženklo (Vanagienė ir kt., 2007: 101). Pastebima tendencija, kad ne visi vartotojai yra vienodai lojalūs tiems patiems produktams, kuriuos nuolat perka. Paslaugų / produktų atžvilgiu vartotojas gali būti tiek lojalus, tiek ir nepastovus. Vartotojo būdą įsigyjant paslaugą / produktą nulemia aplinka ir žmogaus būdas. Kaip pastebi S. Coyles ir T. Gokey (2005: 102), vartotojų lojalumo laipsnis gali būti skirtingas. Skiriami šeši vartotojų segmentai pagal jų lojalumo pobūdį: 1. Lojalūs vartotojai tai žmonės, kurie paslaugas / produktus įsigyja iš viso arba beveik nesvarstydami. Šie vartotojai dar skirstomi į tris segmentus: a) emociškai lojalūs vartotojai tai vartotojai, kurie jau yra emociškai prisirišę prie tiekėjo, yra apsisprendę, kad jų dabartinis pasirinkimas geriausias, ir nesvarsto jokių alternatyvų; b) inertiški klientai tai vartotojai, kurie svarsto produkto / paslaugų keitimo galimybes, vis dėlto dažniausia naudojasi tais tiekėjais, kuriais jau ne kartą naudojosi, kitų produkto / paslaugos alternatyvų nesvarsto, kol jaučiasi patenkinti turimu variantu; c) lojalūs svarstantys vartotojai tai klientai, kurie dažnai iš naujo racionaliai permąsto savo sprendimus dar kartą įsigydami produktą / paslaugą, bet visada pasirenka ankstesnį tiekėją, taip patvirtindami savo ankstesnio ir dabartinio pasirinkimo teisingumą. 2. Nepastovūs vartotojai tai vartotojai, kurių poreikiai ir norai nuolat kinta, todėl prieš įsigydami paslaugas / produktus jie svarsto esamas alternatyvas, neturi socialinio, psichologinio prieraišumo prekės ženklui (Zikienė 2009: 91). Jie dar skirstomi į: a) vartotojus, kurių sprendimus renkantis produkto / paslaugos tiekėją nulemia pasikeitusios gyvenimo sąlygos (pvz., vaikų atsiradimas, sumažėjusios pajamos ir pan.); b) nuolat svarstantys vartotojai panašūs į inertiškus vartotojus, pagrindinis skirtumas tarp šių vartotojų segmentų tas, kad apsvarsčius visas alternatyvas, racionaliais argumentais paremtas sprendimas būna rinktis kitą produkto / paslaugos tiekėją; c) nepatenkinti vartotojai tai klientai, kurie turi tiesioginių arba netiesioginių nemalonių patirčių su produkto / paslaugos ženklu, dėl to drastiškai atsisako to gamintojo / tiekėjo ir aktyviai ieško alternatyvių galimybių. Išryškėja, kad net ir lojalus vartotojas gali būti kelių tipų ir jo elgsena gali būti visiškai skirtinga, todėl ir jį veikiantys tie patys veiksniai paveikia nevienodai. Kaip pažymi L. Pilelienė (2008: 112), net ir lojalaus vartotojo, atsižvelgiant į jo elgesį, gali būti skiriamos skirtingos lojalumo stadijos. I. Skačkauskienės, K. Toropovaitės (2011) nuomone, klientų lojalumo formavimas ir stiprinimas priklauso nuo ryšių kokybės, pasitikėjimo kūrimo, konfliktų valdymo, sėkmingos komunikacijos ir įsipareigojimo. Autorių nuomone, kokybiški ryšiai padeda sumažinti netikrumą, suvoktas grėsmes, didina pasitikėjimą, įsipareigojimus, gerina komunikaciją ir konfliktų valdymą tai skatina klientų lojalumą. K. Zikienė (2010: 29) cituoja M. Fassnacht ir P. W. Daus (2004), kurių teigimu, vartotojų lojalumui įtakos turinčius veiksnius galima analizuoti trimis aspektais: 1. Lojalumui įtakos turinčius veiksnius siejant su organizacija arba jos gaminamais produktais / teikiamomis paslaugomis. Būtina, kad egzistuotų didžiausią vertę vartotojui teikiantis produktas ar paslauga, nes tik taip jis garantuotai norės jį / ją įsigyti. Be to, kaip šio aspekto veiksnius galima paminėti kainą, įmonės įvaizdį ir reputaciją. 2. Lojalumui įtakos turinčius veiksnius siejant su santykių plėtojimu. Ypač akcentuojami tokie veiksniai kaip santykių kokybė, ankstesnė patirtis, pasitikėjimas. 3. Lojalumui įtakos turinčius veiksnius siejant su vartotojo charakteristikomis. Šiuo atveju skirtingos vartotojo charakteristikos suvokiamos kaip skirtingas vartotojų įsitraukimas į pirkimo procesą, skirtingas produkto ar paslaugos svarbos traktavimas, skirtingos asmeninės savybės. 71

72 Deimena Kiyak, Linara Pranckevičiūtė, Ieva Volskytė VARTOTOJŲ ELGSENOS RENKANTIS ODONTOLOGŲ PASLAUGAS TEIKIANČIĄ ĮSTAIGĄ TYRIMAS VAKARŲ LIETUVOJE Pasak D. L. Duffy (2003), veiksniai formuojasi veikiami klientų elgsenos, o klientų elgesys priklauso nuo išorinių ir vidinių veiksnių. Vidiniai kriterijai yra individualūs kiekvienam vartotojui, jie gali būti apibūdinami kaip asmeniniai ir psichologiniai veiksniai: amžius, profesija, motyvacija, elgsena ir asmeninės vertybės, tuo tarpu išoriniai veiksniai formuojami aplinkos. Išoriniai kriterijai, darantys įtaką klientų elgsenai, yra tokie, kaip kultūra, šeima, vaidmuo, statusas. To nereikėtų suvokti taip, kad žmonės, priklausantys tai pačiai amžiaus grupei, turi tuos pačius pirkimo įpročius, jų įpročiai yra skirtingi, tai rodo universalios vartotojų elgsenos egzistavimą. Įvertinus ir pritaikius tinkamas rinkodaros priemones galima lengviau paveikti vartotojo sprendimą, tik būtina nustatyti, kuriai stadijai priklauso vartotojas, koks jo charakteris, poreikiai ir kokie pasiūlymai jį patenkins. Šiandieninėje visuomenėje ypač svarbus yra vartotojo individualumas, įmonės sugebėjimas prisitaikyti prie kiekvieno kliento poreikių ir besikeičiančių vartotojo gyvenimo sąlygų, politinių, ekonominių aplinkybių bei kliento keliamų reikalavimų. Vis dėlto vartotojų yra daug ir neįmanoma patenkinti kiekvieno jų poreikių, bent jau sudėtinga tai padaryti. Todėl norint turėti vertingus, ilgalaikius, pelno teikiančius lojalius vartotojus, būtina sukurti pridėtinę vertę, kuri jiems atrodytų priimtina. Pridėtinės ir neapčiuopiamos produkto / paslaugos vertės papildomas suvokimas yra vienas svarbiausių vartotojo poveikio aspektų. Tradiciškai vertė vartotojui suvokiama per gaunamo produkto / paslaugos kainą ir kokybę, nors šiais laikais tai suprantama plačiau: vertė nebeapsiriboja vien tik kaina ir kokybe, bet apima ir kitus aspektus. Dažniausia vertė vartotojui sukuriama pasitelkus santykių rinkodarą, kuri padeda nustatyti, kokie veiksniai ir kokia galima produkto / paslaugos vertė vartotojui aktualiausia, parodant, kad būtent tai gali išpildyti jo pageidaujamus lūkesčius vertės atžvilgiu. Tyrimai, kuriuose analizuojamas vartotojų lojalumas, kaip santykių rinkodaros rezultatas, suskaidyti į dvi pagrindines grupes (Pilelienė, 2008: 111; Henning-Thurau ir kt., 2002: 233): 1. Pirmosios grupės tyrimuose akcentuojama vienos santykių rinkodaros dimensijos įtaka vartotojų lojalumui. Tokie tyrimai atskleidžia vienadimensį požiūrį. 2. Antroji tyrimų grupė analizuoja dviejų ar daugiau santykių rinkodaros dimensijų visumą ir šių dimensijų ar jų derinių įtaką vartotojų lojalumui, todėl šiuose tyrimuose tiriamas ne tik ryšys tarp veiksnio ir rezultato, bet ir ryšiai tarp pavienių veiksnių. Toks požiūris vadinamas daugiadimensiu. Pasak I. Jusaitytės ir J. Maščinskienės (2011), santykių rinkodaros terminas literatūroje dažnai vartotas kaip termino sąveikos požiūris sinonimas. Santykių rinkodara dažnai mini šias santykių proceso stadijas: santykių inicijavimą, užmezgimą, kūrimą, išlaikymą, vystymą ir nutraukimą. Daugelis jų akcentuoja ir abipusiai naudingus, bendradarbiavimu pagrįstus santykius. Taigi iš šių apibrėžimų matome, kad santykių rinkodaros pagrindinė ašis yra vartotojas. Šiuo santykiu siekiama pritraukti naują vartotoją, išlaikyti seną ar tiesiog palaikyti ryšį su savo klientais. Paslaugų paskirtis patenkinti pagrindinį žmogaus poreikį, kuris paprastai būna sąmoningas. Vis dėlto, jei ši paslauga nėra pirmosios būtinybės, reikia sužadinti, pasitelkus rinkodaros priemones, nesąmoningą tos paslaugos poreikį, sukurti vidinius pasitenkinimo motyvavimo veiksnius. Viso to reikia, norint paskatinti pirmą kartą pasinaudoti paslauga, kartu pateisinti lūkesčius, suteikti taip trokštamą rezultatą, kad vartotojas paslauga naudotųsi dar ne kartą. Deja, dažnai paslaugų teikėjai lūkesčius ignoruoja, nes nauda, kurią tikisi gauti vartotojas, neretai viršija realias įmonės galimybes (Stašys ir kt., 2010: 167). Lūkesčiai formuojami būtent rinkodaros priemonėmis, dėl to nevertėtų to atmesti. Tuo labiau, kad šis veiksnys dažnai lemia vartotojo elgseną. Šiandieniame pasaulyje žmonių ekonominė padėtis gerėja, plečiasi ir paslaugų sritis, atsiranda daugiau galimybių ir poreikis jomis pasinaudoti. Kinta vartojimo kultūra, kurios pokyčiams daugiausia įtakos daro tam tikros visuomenės nuomonę formuojančios grupės, švietimas, požiūris, įpročiai, vertybės (Tamulienė, 2014: 666), stiprėja rinkodaros paskatos paslaugų atžvilgiu, didesnę įtaką pradeda daryti politinės pažiūros, technologinės inovacijos (Kuzminskaitė, 2012: 2). Taigi didėja ir vartotojo asmeninė motyvacija naudotis paslaugomis, todėl svarbu užtikrinti taip trokštamą žmogaus pasitenkinimą. Galima teigti, kad galutinis rezultatas tampa beveik pagrindiniu veiksniu, kuris nulemia tolesnius veiksmus tos paslaugos atžvilgiu. Būtent kyla nemenka problema šališkumas vertinant paslaugas. Vartotojams svarbios skirtingos vertybės, skirtingi 72

73 ISSN (Print), ISSN (Online). Regional Formation and Development Studies, No. 1 (21) paslaugų teikimo aspektai, bruožai. Reikia pažymėti, kad šiandien globalizuota rinka suteikė vartotojams daug daugiau pasirinkimų nei bet kada anksčiau. Dėl to išaugo klientų lūkesčiai paslaugų teikėjų atžvilgiu. Vartotojai dažnai labai netolerantiški ilgiau trunkančiam paslaugų pristatymui ir reikalauja kokybiškų paslaugų tiek privačiame gyvenime, tiek ir darbinėje aplinkoje (Hoots, 2005: 352). Tampa svarbus klientų pasitenkinimo rodiklis, kuris apima tiek teigiamus, tiek neigiamus vartotojo potyrius, kurie dažniausia būna subjektyvūs (Petrauskienė ir kt., 2011: 281). Dėl to būtina analizuoti paslaugų vartotojų charakterius, jų lūkesčius, tolerancijos ribas, siūlant paslaugas skirtingoms rinkoms ir darant teigiamą įtaką vartotojui, skatinant jį įsigyti paslaugą. Paslaugų rinka pasižymi vienu privalumu darant įtaką vartotojo elgsenai tai greitas reagavimas į vartotojo nepasitenkinimą, skundą dėl siūlomos paslaugos ar aptarnavimo. Būtent per kliento ir paslaugos teikėjo tiesioginį kontaktą galima konkrečiau išsiaiškinti, kas vartotojo netenkina, kokios pagrindinės problemos kyla teikiant paslaugas, kokie yra jo lūkesčiai dėl paslaugos ir už kokią paslaugų papildomą vertę vartotojas linkęs mokėti daugiau nei įprasta. Deja, vartotojo kontaktas su paslaugos teikėju ne visada veiksmingas. Vietoj to, kad skundas būtų adekvačiai išspręstas bendraujant su paslaugos teikėju, kyla dar didesnis vartotojo nepasitenkinimas, nusivylimas ir kitos neigiamos emocijos. Tokiu momentu labiausiai išryškėja paslaugos teikėjo ir vartotojo vertybių, tolerantiškumo ribų skirtumai. Jei tos ribos gerokai skiriasi, kyla dar didesnis konfliktas, todėl vienintelė išeitis atitinkamai reaguoti į oficialiai pateiktą vartotojo skundą. Kaip teigia B. Tronvoll (2007: 614), sprendžiant skundą svarbu atsižvelgti į priimtiną vartotojui skundo nagrinėjimo procedūrą. Kadangi net ir išsprendus nepasitenkinimą keliančius klausimus ar panaikinus veiksnius, neigiamas požiūris užsifiksuoja vartotojo atmintyje. Tokie vartotojai yra linkę perduoti neigiamus atsiliepimus kitiems esamiems ir potencialiems vartotojams ir patys retai kada linkę dar kartą pasinaudoti įmonės teikiamomis paslaugomis. Vartotojui patyrus neigiamas emocijas, net jei vėliau jam suteiktas pasitenkinimas, pirminis pojūtis užsifiksuoja stipriau ir ilgesniam laikui. Medicininių paslaugų vartotojų elgsenos poveikis dar sudėtingesnis: kuo toliau, tuo sudėtingiau paveikti pacientą. Kaip pastebi V. Leonavičius ir kt. (2007: 89), baigiantis XX a. suyra tradiciškai apibrėžiami elgesio modeliai, formuojasi naujų individualių gyvenimo stilių įvairovė, subkultūros, socialinių santykių ir tapatybių rinkiniai. Visa šių pokyčių visuma sukuria naują vartotoją, kuris turi daug daugiau informacijos. Tai, kad vartotojas daugiau žino, nereiškia, jog lengviau jam tinkamai pateikti paslaugas. Neapčiuopiamą vartotojo ugdymą būtina tęsti, nes turimos žinios sudaro pagrindą naujų žinių interpretavimui, vartotojai pradeda daugiau mąstyti apie pačias problemas ir jų sprendimo būdus, viską vertina kritiškiau nei anksčiau (Giedrimienė, 2012: 85). Todėl vartotojus paveikti darosi vis sunkiau. Susiformuoja naujas pacientų tipas savotiški medicininių paslaugų ekspertai, bandantys savo žiniomis prilygti gydytojams. Dažnai jie pas gydytoją ateina jau patys nusistatę ligas ir net tada, kai jų nuomonė klaidinga, gydytojui sudėtinga pacientą perkalbėti ir suteikti būtiną pagalbą. Čia išryškėja dar vienas pokytis pacientų pagarbos gydytojams sumažėjimas. Dėl to svarbus tampa gydytojo ir paciento bendravimo modelis, vertinant tiek medicininių paslaugų kokybę, tiek ir galutinį paciento sprendimą. Kaip pažymi A. M. Mosadeghrad (2014: 154), pacientų galimybė pasirinkti, priimti galutinį sprendimą pasirenkant medicinines paslaugas, jų teikėją yra kompleksinis procesas. Šio autoriaus teigimu, visus asmenis, kuriems reikia medicininių paslaugų, veikia dešimt pagrindinių aplinkos veiksnių. Juos A. M. Mosadeghrad įvardija kaip 10 P. Jo išskirti veiksniai gali būti ginčytini, tačiau jie atitinka pagrindinius medicininių paslaugų rinkodaros principus. Taigi 10 P sudaro: 1. Paslauga / produktas (angl. product). Sveikatos priežiūros paslaugų gausa vienoje įstaigoje gali daryti didelę įtaką pacientui priimant galutinį sprendimą dėl medicinines paslaugas teikiančios įstaigos. Kadangi pacientui neretai reikia ne vienos paslaugos, klinikai sudarius teigiamą įvaizdį ir galint pasiūlyti visas būtinas procedūras, paslaugų gausa gali turėti lemiamos įtakos galutiniam vartotojo sprendimui. 2. Vieta (angl. place). Įstaigos lokalizacija taip pat gali būti lemiamas veiksnys renkantis sveikatos priežiūros paslaugas teikiančią įstaigą. Kad įstaigos vieta iš tikrųjų yra svarbi, pastebima tarp vyresnio amžiaus pacientų. 73

74 Deimena Kiyak, Linara Pranckevičiūtė, Ieva Volskytė VARTOTOJŲ ELGSENOS RENKANTIS ODONTOLOGŲ PASLAUGAS TEIKIANČIĄ ĮSTAIGĄ TYRIMAS VAKARŲ LIETUVOJE 3. Kaina (angl. price). Tai ypač aktualu, jei asmenys neturi sveikatos draudimo arba už tam tikras medicinines paslaugas turi susimokėti patys. Be to, tai turi įtakos asmenims, kurie medicinines paslaugas ruošiasi pirkti kitose šalyse (medicininė migracija). 4. Fizinė aplinka (angl. physical environment). Nors medicinines paslaugas teikiančių įstaigų pagrindinė užduotis gydyti pacientus, vis dėlto išlieka tikimybė, kad toje aplinkoje gali būti įvairių infekcijų užuomazgų. Aplinka gali būti užteršta, ir pacientai dėl silpnesnio imuniteto ar tam tikrų atliekamų procedūrų ypatybių gali būti užkrėsti. Todėl ypač svarbi sveikatos priežiūros įstaigų švara, higieninių normų laikymasis ir pan. Švarioje aplinkoje pacientai jaučiasi saugūs. Švarios ligoninės įspūdis ne vienintelis šios veiksnių grupės veiksnys. Kalbant apie ligonines, įtakos turi ir skanus maistas, lovų skaičius ar net ligoninės dydis. Pastebima, kad pacientai dažniau linkę rinktis tas ligonines, kuriose yra didesnis lovų skaičius. 5. Darbuotojai (angl. personnel). Pacientams svarbu, kad medicinos srityje dirbtų kompetentingi ir savo darbą išmanantys specialistai. Jiems svarbu, kad medikai turėtų pakankamai patirties, sugebėtų nustatyti tikslią negalavimų priežastį ir pan. Šioje vietoje galima paminėti Lietuvą. Kadangi planinėms operacijoms iš anksto sudaromos pacientų eilės, pastebima, kad didžiųjų miestų ligoninėse pacientų skaičius gerokai didesnis ir žmonės pasiryžę laukti ne vieną mėnesį ar net metus, kol ateis jų eilė, tuo tarpu rajoninėse ligoninėse eilės mažesnės. Dauguma pasiryžta laukti ilgesnį laiką vien dėl to, kad rajoninėse ligoninėse atliekamų procedūrų skaičius mažesnis. Dėl to pacientams dažnai susidaro įspūdis, kad tokios ligoninės medikų kompetencija yra žemesnio lygio nei didžiųjų miestų ligoninėse dirbančių medikų. Be to, reikia pažymėti, kad pacientai medicinos darbuotojų kompetenciją vertina asmeniškai su jais pabendravę. Pastebima tendencija, kad pacientai iš darbuotojų tikisi ne tik rūpestingumo, mandagumo bendraujant, paslaugumo, draugiškumo, pagarbos, užuojautos, jautrumo, gerumo, solidarumo bei kantrumo, bet ir atsakingumo, greito aptarnavimo, emocinės paramos, pastangų sumažinti jų pažeidžiamumą ir nerimą. Bendraujant su medikais pacientai tikisi užmegzti ryšius, kurie teiktų jiems socialinę naudą ir emocinį pasitenkinimą. Taip sukuriamas papildomas priedas prie pagrindinės paslaugos (Pilelienė, 2008: 113). 6. Procesas (angl. processes). Apima visą paslaugų pasiūlymo pateikimo pacientams procesą. Tai yra visos įstaigos politika. 7. Paslaugų teikimas (angl. package). Dažnai pacientams prireikia ne vienos, o net kelių paslaugų, kurios neretai būna tarpusavyje susijusios. Dėl to pacientai, rinkdamiesi medicininių paslaugų teikėją, atsižvelgia į paslaugų gausą ir jų teikimo patogumą. Šį veiksnį apima ir medicininės programos, skirtos visai šeimai (pavyzdžiui, užsiregistravus klinikoje pas šeimos gydytoją visiems šeimos nariams, tam tikros paslaugos gali būti teikiamos nemokamai arba už mažesnę kainą nei įprastai), arba specialūs medicininių paslaugų kompleksai, atsižvelgiant į paciento amžių. 8. Įstaigos įvaizdis (angl. performance). Svarbi visuomenės nuomonė apie tam tikrą kliniką. Gali būti, kad tam tikros ligoninės mirtingumo koeficientas yra didesnis, galbūt joje dažniau pacientai suserga infekcinėmis ligomis ir pan. Tai sukuria neigiamą nuomonę apie kliniką. Gali būti ir atvirkščiai: klinika garsėja mažu mirtingumu ir pan. Taip kuriamas teigiamas įvaizdis, nulemiantis vartotojo pasirinkimą, kur atlikti tam tikras procedūras. Tai ypač svarbu užsienio šalyse, kuriose akcentuojamas aplinkos apsaugos veiksnys. Tokiose valstybėse svarbu pabrėžti aplinkos tausojimą įgyvendinančius klinikos veiksmus (pavyzdžiui, medicininių atliekų kiekio mažinimas, atliekų perdirbimo galimybės, švaraus oro, saugių ir ekologiškų priemonių naudojimas medicinines paslaugas teikiančioje įstaigoje ir pan.). 9. Pozicija (angl. position). Šį veiksnį sudaro visi anksčiau paminėti P, kadangi jie užtikrina, teigiamą paciento patirtį sveikatos priežiūros paslaugas teikiančios įstaigos aplinkoje. Visa tai sukuria tam tikrą įstaigos įvaizdį paciento akyse, todėl subjektyviu vertinimu jis susidaro įvaizdį bei vertina kliniką, remdamasis asmenine patirtimi. Kadangi pacientai dažnai lankosi ne vienoje klinikoje, sukūrus teigiamą įspūdį, vartotojas klinikai gali teikti pirmenybę net ir rinkdamasis kitas tos įstaigos medicinines paslaugas, ilgainiui tapti lojaliu tos įstaigos klientu. 74

75 ISSN (Print), ISSN (Online). Regional Formation and Development Studies, No. 1 (21) 10. Rėmimas (angl. promotion). Pacientai dažnai renkasi konkrečią kliniką ir konkretų gydytoją, siekdami gauti tam tikrą paslaugą. Čia svarbi reklama, nuomonės ir panašios rinkodaros priemonės, padedančios formuoti išankstinę pacientų nuomonę apie gydytojus ir kitus medicininės įstaigos darbuotojus, teikiamas medicinines paslaugas, pačią įstaigą. Reikia pažymėti, kad anksčiau išvardyti veiksniai skirtingose valstybėse gyvenantiems pacientams, kartais ir tos pačios šalies gyventojams daro nevienodą poveikį. Nelengva nustatyti, kuris aplinkos veiksnys svarbiausias, ypač pirmą kartą pacientui priimant sprendimą rinktis medicininių paslaugų teikėją. Vis dėlto būtų galima teigti, kad paslaugą suteikus, toliau didžiausią įtaką gali daryti būtent paciento ir medicininės įstaigos darbuotojų bendravimas. A. M. Mosadeghrad subūrė pacientų diskusijų grupę Focus group research (2014: 156) ir atliko asmenišką interviu, vedė grupines diskusijas, kurių metu nustatė veiksnius, kurie lemia pacientų apsisprendimą. Nustatyta, kad paciento elgseną veikia daug aplinkos veiksnių (1 pav.). Vis dėlto svarbiausias yra ligos tipas ir jos sunkumas. Kuo sunkesnė liga, tuo rizikingesnį sprendimą yra linkęs priimti pacientas. Todėl didžiausią vaidmenį čia atlieka gydytojas, jo profesionalumas. Procedūrų kaina nebeturi tokios didelės reikšmės net ir ekonomiškai nestabiliems asmenims, nes pagrindiniu siekiu tampa pasveikimas. 1 pav. Paciento elgseną veikiantys aplinkos veiksniai Šaltinis: Mosadeghrad, 2014, p. 161 Ir Lietuvoje atlikti tyrimai atskleidė, kad žmonės, priimdami sprendimus sveikatos ir socialinės rizikos srityse, linkę labiau rizikuoti savo išlaidomis nei kitose gyvenimo srityse (Endriulaitienė ir kt., 2007: 191). Taigi galima teigti, kad siekis pasveikti kartais nustumia racionalius ir finansiškai naudingus sprendimus. 2. Tyrimo metodologija Teorinė analizė atskleidė, kad medicinos srityje svarbiausias siekis paciento pasitenkinimas, kuris daugeliu atvejų garantuoja teigiamą paslaugų vertinimą. Net ir tais atvejais, kai žmogui sunku padėti, svarbu užtikrinti kuo mažesnį jo neigiamų emocijų poveikį vertinant medicinines paslaugas. Todėl pagrindinis klinikų veiklos kokybės rodiklis yra pacientų pasitenkinimas, kuris dažniausia matuojamas vertinant klinikos struktūrą (personalo gebėjimus / išsimokslinimo lygį, taikomas technologijas), procesą (medicininio personalo ir paciento komunikaciją, kaip greitai suteikta medicininė paslauga) ir rezultatus (pacientų sveikatos būklę, mirtingumo rodiklį, pacientų atsiliepimus ir pan.) (Narang et. al., 2015: 130). V. Leonavičius ir kt. (2007: 145) taip pat akcentuoja, kad pacientų pasitenkinimas yra vienas pagrindinių tyrimo objektų medicinoje. Taigi galima teigti, kad patenkintas pacientas yra tinkamų ir gerai suteiktų 75

76 Deimena Kiyak, Linara Pranckevičiūtė, Ieva Volskytė VARTOTOJŲ ELGSENOS RENKANTIS ODONTOLOGŲ PASLAUGAS TEIKIANČIĄ ĮSTAIGĄ TYRIMAS VAKARŲ LIETUVOJE paslaugų rodiklis. Vis dėlto tokio pobūdžio tyrimuose jie siūlo analizuoti vieną iš šių aspektų: 1) sveikatos priežiūros paslaugų pasiūla, prieinamumas ir tęstinumas; 2) gydymo efektyvumas (t. y. pasitenkinimas savo sveikatos būkle ir gydymo rezultatu), gydymo kaina; 3) konsultacijų trukmė, fizinė aplinka; 4) paciento įgalinimas dalyvauti sveikatos priežiūros procese; 5) gydytojo ir paciento santykiai, sveikatos priežiūros specialisto dėmesys paciento psichosocialinėms problemoms, informacijos suteikimas pacientui; 6) biurokratiniai arba organizaciniai sveikatos priežiūros aspektai (pvz., registratūros darbas, eilės ir pan.) Kaip matome, visi punktai susiję, nors ir skirtingi. Puikiai veikianti medicinos įstaiga turi atitikti anksčiau išvardytus kriterijus. Deja, realybėje tokią kliniką sunkiai atrastume, nes kiekvienos klinikos politika yra skirtinga, dėmesys gali būti skiriamas skirtingiems punktams dėl jos teikiamų specifinių paslaugų, įstatymų subtilybių ir pan. Todėl medicininės įstaigos veiklą, pacientų elgseną veikiančius veiksnius galima suskirstyti į tam tikrus lygius (2 pav.). 2 pav. Paciento elgseną lemiantys veiksniai Šaltinis: sudaryta autorių Kol neišpildyti svarbiausi, piramidės apačioje esantys veiksniai, tol negali būti tinkamai įgyvendinti ir įvertinti aukščiau esantys veiksniai. Pavyzdžiui, jeigu žmogus negali gauti jam reikiamų medicininių paslaugų ar net medikamentų (kaip dažnai būna Afrikos žemyno valstybėse arba po stichinių nelaimių), mažai tikėtina, kad jam bus svarbu, kokia papildoma veikla užsiima medicinines paslaugas teikianti įstaiga arba kokia ligoninėse sukuriama aplinka ir pan. Vis dėlto galimas variantas, kad pacientui net minimaliai užtikrinus žemiau esančius įtaką darančius veiksnius, jo pasitenkinimui įtakos gali turėti ir aukščiau pateikti veiksniai. Pavyzdžiui, pacientui daug didesnę įtaką vertinant paslaugas gali daryti jo bendravimas su medikais ir įstaigos darbuotojais, nei naudojamos įrangos naujumas, kokybiškumas, aplinkos švara ir pan. Tai ypač aktualu besivystančiose šalyse. Net įstatymai, nukreipti vystyti tam tikrą sritį, rengiami kitų valstybių priimtų įstatymų pagrindu. Tokiu atveju svarbu įvertinti, ar tikrai pacientas bus patenkintas ir ar tikrai tie veiksniai turės įtakos jam renkantis medicininių paslaugų teikėją. Reikia pastebėti, kad Lietuvoje pacientams suteikiama gana didelė laisvė rinktis medicininių paslaugų teikėją. Be to, vis daugiau medicininių paslaugų suteikiama tiek viešajame, tiek privačiajame sektoriuose. Todėl paslaugos teritoriniu požiūriu teikiamos gana plačiai ir pacientams nesunku jas gauti. Daugiau galimy- 76

77 ISSN (Print), ISSN (Online). Regional Formation and Development Studies, No. 1 (21) bių konkuruoti tarpusavyje, ypač privačioms klinikoms, suteikia ir įstatymai. Dėl šios priežasties praranda prasmę ekonominis veiksnys, nes kiekvienas pacientas gali rinktis paslaugas pagal savo ekonominę padėtį. Sveikatos srityje žmogus neretai yra linkęs rizikuoti. Tuo labiau, kad apie paslaugas ir jų teikėjus sklinda nemažai mitų, skirtingų nuomonių. Atliekant tyrimą siekta nustatyti, kokie veiksniai daro įtaką renkantis odontologų paslaugas. Ši sritis pasirinkta todėl, kad odontologų paslaugos yra vienos populiariausių Lietuvoje, teikiamos tiek viešajame, tiek privačiajame sektoriuose. Tyrimo problemai spręsti pasirinktas trumpalaikis, vienkartinis, žvalgybinis tyrimas, kurio metu surengta anketinė apklausa ir interviu su tais pačiais asmenimis. Anketinė apklausa pasirinkta dėl jos aiškumo, nedviprasmiškumo, patikimumo. Apklausos metu siekta išsiaiškinti, kas veikia pacientų apsisprendimą rinktis paslaugas, teikiamas vienoje ar kitoje klinikoje. Siekta išsiaiškinti, kaip pacientų sprendimus veikia aplinkos veiksniai, tokie kaip įstaigos sukurta aplinka, taikomos technologijos, paslaugų kainos. Respondentų prašyta išvardyti pagal svarbą tuos veiksnius, į kuriuos pirmiausia kreipiamas dėmesys. Interviu pasirinkta, siekiant geriau suvokti, koks pacientų požiūris vyrauja lyginant viešų ir privačių klinikų teikiamas paslaugas, medicinines paslaugas teikiančias įstaigas. Norint suvokti, kurie veiksniai dominuoja, jie suskirstyti į kategorijas bei subkategorijas, respondentų atsakymuose ieškota tam tikrų pagrindinių žodžių. Siekiant įvertinti, kokie aplinkos veiksniai daro įtaką pacientų elgsenai, atliktas žvalgybinis tyrimas Klaipėdos mieste. Respondentams pateiktas struktūruotas klausimynas, tada su kiekvienu vykdytas iš dalies struktūruotas interviu. Interviu metu gauti rezultatai fiksuoti spausdintinio teksto forma. Gauti rezultatai susisteminti pagal pagrindinius interviu klausimus. Užrašyti atsakymai buvo siunčiami respondentams, siekiant įsitikinti duomenų tikslumu. Apžvalginiu metodu gauti atsakymai susisteminami ir gaunamas bendras respondentų nuomonių vaizdas. Anketiniu metodu gaunami individualūs, vienkartiniai respondentų atsakymai apie jų veiksmus ir naudojimąsi odontologų paslaugomis. Gauti rezultatai abstrahuojami ir suskirstomi į kategorijas. 3. Tyrimo rezultatų analizė Respondentų amžius nuo 25 iki 44 metų. Amžius pasirinktas tikslingai, nes tokio amžiaus asmenys jau dirba, gyvena iš savo pajamų, dažnai būna sukūrę šeimas. Dėl to žmonės dažniausia jau suvokia savo poreikius, norus ir galimybes. Visi respondentai gauna didesnį už minimalų atlyginimą Lietuvoje, dažniausia vieną ar du kartus per metus lankosi pas odontologą. Populiariausios paslaugos yra profilaktinė apžiūra / konsultacija, profesionali burnos higiena, danties kanalų gydymas, plombavimas. Tai pagrindinės, įprastos paslaugos, norint tinkamai pasirūpinti savo sveikata šiuo atveju savo dantų būkle. Pastebima tendencija, kad respondentai dažniau yra linkę naudotis privačių odontologijos klinikų paslaugomis. Vien viešų klinikų paslaugomis pasikliauti yra linkusi maža respondentų dalis. Taigi, įžvelgus tendenciją, kad dauguma respondentų yra linkę rinktis privačias klinikas, svarbu išsiaiškinti, kodėl jie priima būtent tokį sprendimą. Respondentų teirautasi, kas jiems svarbiausia renkantis medicininių paslaugų teikėją. Pastebėta, kad labiausiai pacientai domisi paslaugų kaina, klinikos vieta, personalo kvalifikacija, naudojama įranga, galimybe greitai gauti paslaugą. Atliekant tyrimą svarbu buvo išsiaiškinti, ar pacientai prieš pasirinkdami analizuoja teikiamų paslaugų kainas, domisi, kokie gydytojai dirba įstaigose ir panašiai. Pusė respondentų teigė, kad visada renkasi tą pačią kliniką. Daugiau nei pusė respondentų prisipažino, kad prireikus odontologo paslaugų yra linkę nesvarstydami užsiregistruoti pas tą odontologą, pas kurį jau lankėsi. Vis dėlto respondentai yra linkę ieškoti informacijos apie klinikas, dirbantį personalą, naudojamą įrangą, klausti pažįstamų nuomonės. Svarbi ir klinikos buvimo vieta. Respondentų prašyta pažymėti skalėje, kam jie teiktų pirmenybę, jei galėtų rinktis vieną iš dviejų variantų. Turėjo rinktis, kas jiems svarbiau: profesionali įranga ar mediko profesionalumas, klinikos vidaus politika, elgesys su savo darbuotojais ar greitesnis aptarnavimas, nepaisant to, kad elgesys su darbuotojais, darbo užmokestis ir kitos darbo sąlygos nėra pačios palankiausios, svarbiau kaina ar klinikos vieta ir pan. Gauti 77

78 Deimena Kiyak, Linara Pranckevičiūtė, Ieva Volskytė VARTOTOJŲ ELGSENOS RENKANTIS ODONTOLOGŲ PASLAUGAS TEIKIANČIĄ ĮSTAIGĄ TYRIMAS VAKARŲ LIETUVOJE rezultatai atskleidė, kad pagrindinis vaidmuo tenka medikams ir kitiems darbuotojams, nes svarbiausia yra dirbančių specialistų patirtis, jų profesionalumas. Žinoma, svarbus ir paslaugos suteikimo laikas. Tačiau šiuo atveju respondentai pasiskirstė apylygiai. Nemažai daliai respondentų svarbios ir darbuotojų darbo sąlygos, net jei tektų paslaugos ilgiau palaukti. Taigi iš dalies pasireiškia ir penktasis kriterijus klinikos pozicija visuomenėje. Nors realiai jis retai kada aktualus. Tai ypač išryškėjo interviu metu, kur nė vienas respondentas neužsiminė, kad darbuotojų darbo sąlygos būtų tikrai aktualios priimant sprendimą dėl paslaugų teikėjo. Svarbi klinikos vieta, nes didžioji dalis respondentų pasiryžusi mokėti truputį daugiau už paslaugas tik todėl, kad odontologijos klinika įsikūrusi patogioje vietoje. Interviu tikslas buvo išsiaiškinti, kodėl pacientai renkasi privačias arba viešas odontologines klinikas. Medicinos srityje dažni mitai, tam tikros visuomenei priimtinos nusistovėjusios nuomonės. Lietuvoje dažnai tenka išgirsti nuomonę, kad privačiose klinikose naudojama naujesnė, geresnė medicininė įranga. Pirmiausia atliekant interviu siekta sužinoti, kokią paslaugą respondentai laiko kokybiška. Šis klausimas buvo aktualus dėl to, kad teorijoje pabrėžiama vartotojo patenkinimo svarba. Šiais laikais vartotojas jaučiasi patenkintas gavęs kokybišką, jo lūkesčius atitinkančią paslaugą. Vis dėlto atliekant interviu pastebėta tendencija, kad respondentai kokybiška odontologų paslauga laiko ilgalaikį išgydymą (dantų šaknų kanalų gydymas, ir plombavimas) ir greitą aptarnavimą. Trys respondentai paminėjo, kad svarbus malonus aptarnavimas ir tinkama kaina. Po du respondentus akcentavo estetišką dantų sutvarkymą ir odontologų sąžiningumą. Siekiant suvokti, kodėl pasirenkama tam tikra klinika, prašyta atsakyti, su kuo būtent respondentams asocijuojasi privati ir vieša klinika, kodėl jie vieną renkasi, o kitos ne. Jų užrašytuose, sutrumpintuose ir patikrintuose atsakymuose ieškota pagrindinių žodžių, kurie padėtų nustatyti, kurios kategorijos klinikos atitinka vartotojų poreikius. Privati klinika daugiausia asocijuojasi su aukštomis kainomis ir kokybiškomis paslaugomis, greitu aptarnavimu, maloniu bendravimu, tvarka, švara. Vieša klinika su patenkinama paslaugų kokybe, nemokamomis arba pigiomis paslaugomis. Vis dėlto nemaža dalis respondentų pažymėjo, kad ir privati klinika jiems asocijuojasi su gruboku, atmestinu darbu, kuris skirtas tik masei žmonių aptarnauti, kai nukenčia paslaugų kokybė. Keli respondentai pažymėjo, kad ir viešos klinikos po truputį ima įsigyti naujesnę įrangą. Bet to nepakanka, nes darbuotojų kvalifikacija nepakankamai aukšto lygio, naudojamos nepakankamai geros medžiagos. Vieša įstaiga daugeliui asocijuojasi su ilgomis eilėmis ir nepunktualumu. Didžioji dauguma respondentų yra linkę rinktis privačią odontologinę kliniką, nepaisant aukštų kainų: dėl geresnės įrangos, medikamentų, kvalifikuotų darbuotojų, malonaus aptarnavimo. Viešą kliniką kaip pasirinkimą įvardijo trys respondentai: dėl žemų ir prieinamų kainų. Likę respondentai labiau buvo linkę šio sektoriaus teikiamomis paslaugomis nesinaudoti. To priežastimi jie įvardijo prastą paslaugų kokybę, informacijos apie gydytojus trūkumą, technologiškai pasenusią įrangą bei naudojamus prastesnius medikamentus, ilgas eiles. Kaip pažymi vienas respondentas, šio sektoriaus paslaugomis naudojasi tik todėl, kad turi gerai pažįstamą odontologą, kuriuo pasitiki, nes per ilgą laiką jis yra įrodęs savo profesionalumą. Taigi renkantis paslaugų teikėją odontologijos srityje atliekant interviu išryškėjo, kad dauguma respondentų rinktųsi privačią kliniką, nes ji atitinka pirmų keturių kategorijų teigiamus veiksnius. Deja, dėl ankstesnių patirčių ar visuomenėje vyraujančių nuomonių, ar netinkamos informacijos didžioji dalis respondentų viešų klinikų linkę nesirinkti. Daugelio nuomone, vieša klinika nesugeba konkuruoti pagal antrąjį, trečiąjį ir ketvirtąjį kriterijus su privačia klinika. Kad sulauktų daugiau pacientų, šios klinikos turi sugebėti save pateikti taip, kad pabrėžtų pastarųjų trijų kriterijų laikymąsi. Teiginys, kad pacientų ir medicinines paslaugas teikiančių įstaigų darbuotojų bendravimas yra pagrindinis veiksnys, lemiantis paciento elgseną renkantis paslaugų teikėją, yra klaidingas. Nors bendravimas pacientams yra svarbus, vis dėlto svarbesnė kokybiškai suteikta paslauga. Kol kas paslaugų kokybė ir darbuotojų profesionalumas, vartotojų nuomone, dar nėra visuotinai užtikrintas, kad bendravimas su klinikos darbuotojais taptų pagrindu pasirenkant kliniką. Reikia pažymėti dar vieną aspektą: pasiteiravus, kurią kliniką rinktųsi respondentai, jeigu abiejose dirbtų tas pats patikimas ir profesionalus gydytojas, daugelis rimtai susimąstė. Šiuo atveju respondentų pasiskirstymas 78

79 ISSN (Print), ISSN (Online). Regional Formation and Development Studies, No. 1 (21) renkantis tiek viešų, tiek privačių klinikų paslaugas apylygis. Kai kurie respondentai liko ištikimi privačių klinikų pasirinkimui. Tokį jų sprendimą lėmė pasitikėjimas privačiame sektoriuje teikiamų paslaugų aukštesne kokybe. Kiti nematė jokio skirtumo, kuria klinika naudotis, jei būtų naudojama vienoda medicininė įranga. Dar kiti rinktųsi viešą kliniką dėl pigesnių paslaugų. Nustatyta, kad ekonominis veiksnys yra tik viena iš priežasčių, nulemiančių privačių ir viešų medicininių paslaugų teikėjų pasirinkimą. Vartotojai viešas klinikas renkasi dėl paslaugų kainų, tačiau vartotojai, kurie gali sau leisti mokėti už odontologų paslaugas daugiau, privačias klinikas renkasi dėl, jų nuomone, geresnės paslaugų kokybės, profesionalių darbuotojų. Reikia pažymėti, kad net ir mažesnes pajamas gaunantys respondentai yra linkę naudotis privačių klinikų paslaugomis, esant skubiam atvejui. Apibendrinant galima teigti, kad Lietuvoje svarbiausia yra odontologinių paslaugų kokybė, naudojamos medžiagos ir įranga. Tiesa, renkantis paslaugų teikėją, mažesnes pajamas gaunantys asmenys pirmenybę teikia viešoms klinikoms, nes tik ten teikiamos paslaugos jiems yra prieinamos. Viešos klinikos privačių klinikų atžvilgiu galėtų tapti konkurencingesnės tik įtikinus vartotoją, kad jos taip pat pajėgios teikti kokybiškas paslaugas, jei taikytų naujesnes technologijas ir modernesnę medicininę įrangą. Taigi vartotojų sprendimą rinktis odontologinių paslaugų teikėją viešajame sektoriuje nulemia vienintelis veiksnys, privačiajame sektoriuje vartotoją veikia keturi pagrindiniai kriterijai. Išvados Tradiciškai vartotojo elgseną veikia keturi pagrindiniai veiksniai: psichologiniai, socialiniai, pirkimo aplinkybių ir rinkodaros. Tačiau skirtingi autoriai pabrėžia, kad kiekvienas iš šių veiksnių skirtingai veikia vartotojo elgseną, nevienodai yra svarbus. Dabartiniam vartotojui vis svarbesnis tampa psichologinis veiksnys. Taip yra dėl to, kad šiandieniniame pasaulyje jis per vartojamus produktus / paslaugas bando išreikšti savo pasaulėžiūrą, asmenybę. Todėl yra linkęs mokėti daugiau nei įprastai. Rinkodaros priemonių tikslu tampa teisingai pateikti informaciją vartotojui, kad būtų paskatinta jo motyvacija, o ne sukurti per dideli lūkesčiai. Kadangi šiuolaikinis vartotojas yra apsiskaitęs, daug bendraujantis, bet koks jo lūkesčių neatitikimas gali neigiamai paveikti ne tik to vienintelio vartotojo nuomonę bei sprendimus, bet ir daugelio kitų. Vertės sukūrimas, lūkesčių patenkinimas, lojalaus vartotojo užsitikrinimas tampa pagrindinėmis sritimis, per kurias bandoma daryti didžiausią įtaką vartotojo elgsenai, sprendimams. Medicinos srityje, kaip ir kitose produktų / paslaugų sektoriuose, vartotojo elgseną veikia tie patys pagrindiniai veiksniai. Tiesa, paslaugų rinkodaroje pasitaiko, kad paslaugos vertinamos neobjektyviai dėl asmeninių nuostatų, psichologinės vartotojo būklės ir panašių niuansų. Todėl sunkiau daryti įtaką vartotojo elgsenai. Medicinos sritis išskirtinė tuo, kad pacientai dažnai psichologiškai lengviau pažeidžiami. Dėl baimės, skausmo, ligos sudėtingumo ir kitų aplinkybių jie gali būti linkę priimti drastiškus, ne visada racionaliai paaiškinamus sprendimus. Todėl norint daryti įtaką vartotojui medicinos srityje svarbu su juo bendrauti, svarbus ir paslaugų pateikimas. Psichologiniai vartotojo elgseną lemiantys veiksniai dar svarbesni nei bet kurioje kitoje srityje. Ankstesnė asmeninė patirtis gali būti lemiama vertinant paslaugas, jų kokybę, medicinos darbuotojų profesionalumą. Analizuojant Vakarų Lietuvos pacientų elgseną, pastebima, kad daugeliui jų bendravimo su odontologais kokybė nėra svarbi. Daug svarbesnė yra kokybiškai suteikta paslauga. Kokybiškos paslaugos pirmiausia asocijuojasi su privačia odontologine klinika. Nepaisant kokybiškai jų teikiamų paslaugų, daugelis vartotojų nėra ekonomiškai pajėgūs mokėti aukštas paslaugos kainas. Tuo tarpu didesnes pajamas gaunantys vartotojai gali lengvai gauti kokybiškas ir laiku suteiktas odontologų paslaugas privačiajame sektoriuje. Viešasis sektorius lieka mažesnes pajamas gaunantiems asmenims. Taip yra dėl to, jog viešojo sektoriaus odontologų teikiamos paslaugos nepakankamai kokybiškos (bent jau daugelio vartotojų nuomone). Pasitaiko atvejų, kai dėl skausmo ar kitų aplinkybių ir mažesnes pajamas gaunantys asmenys ryžtasi eiti pas privatų odontologą, bet tai labiau išimtiniai atvejai nei tendencija. Galima teigti, kad Lietuvoje pacientams svarbiausia yra medicininių paslaugų pasiūla ir jų prieinamumas, būtent tai nulemia viešų klinikų pasirin- 79

80 Deimena Kiyak, Linara Pranckevičiūtė, Ieva Volskytė VARTOTOJŲ ELGSENOS RENKANTIS ODONTOLOGŲ PASLAUGAS TEIKIANČIĄ ĮSTAIGĄ TYRIMAS VAKARŲ LIETUVOJE kimą. Privačių klinikų pasirinkimą lemia taip pat pastarasis veiksnys bei fizinė aplinka, įstaigos veiklos vertinimas, vidinės nuostatos. Atlikus tyrimą paaiškėjo, kad pacientų ir medicinines paslaugas teikiančių įstaigų darbuotojų bendravimas nėra pagrindinis veiksnys, lemiantis paciento elgseną renkantis paslaugų teikėją, nes Lietuvoje kol kas svarbiausia užtikrinti paslaugos kokybę. Ekonominis veiksnys yra tik viena priežasčių, lemiančių pacientų pasirinkimą tarp privačių ir viešų medicininių paslaugų teikėjų, šis veiksnys nulemia mažesnes pajamas gaunančių asmenų sprendimą odontologų paslaugas rinktis viešajame sektoriuje. Didesnes pajamas gaunantys vartotojai dėl kokybiškesnių paslaugų linkę rinktis privatųjį odontologijos klinikų sektorių. Literatūra Bagdonienė, L., Jakštaitė, R. (2007). Lietuvos prekybos tinklų lojalumo programų vertinimas vartotojų požiūriu. Ekonomika ir vadyba, Nr. 12, p Cedronas, K., Žvirelienė, R. (2012). Prekės ženklo vertės matavimo modeliai. Mūsų socialinis kapitalas žinios. 12-oji studentų mokslinė konferencija pranešimų medžiaga. Kaunas: Technologija, p Chlivickas, E. (2013). Vartotojų elgsena viešajame sektoriuje. Public Administration, Vol. 1, Issue 37, p Coyles, S., Gokey, T. C. (2005). Customer retention is not enough. Journal of Consumer Marketing, Vol. 22, Issue 2, p Černikovaitė, M. E. (2011). Prekės ženklo vertės matavimo modeliai. Socialinių mokslų studijos, Nr. 3(3), p Daunorienė, I., Navickienė, R. (2013). Šiuolaikinio vartotojo teorinė esmė turizmo versle. Mokslas ir praktika: aktualijos ir perspektyvos. Kaunas: Lietuvos sporto universitetas, p Duffy, D. L. (2003). Internal and external factors which affect customer loyalty. Journal of Consumer Marketing, Vol. 20, Issue 5, p Endriulaitienė, A., Martišius, V. (2007). Psichologiniai sprendimų priėmimo ypatumai. Kaunas: Vytauto Didžiojo universitetas. Giedrimienė, L. (2012). Neformalus suaugusių vartotojų ugdymas. Studijos šiuolaikinėje visuomenėje, Nr. 3(1), p Hennig-Thurau, Th., Gwinner, K. P., Gremler, D. D. (2002). Understanding Relationship Marketing Outcomes: An Integration of Relational Benefits and Relationship Quality. Journal of Service Research, Vol. 4, No. 3, p Hoots, M. (2005). Customer relationship management for facility managers. Journal of Facilities Management, Vol. 3, Issue 4, p Jusaitytė, I., Maščinskienė, J. (2011). Vertės kūrimas santykių verslas verslui rinkos kontekste. Ekonomika ir vadyba, Nr. 16, p Juščius, V., Viskantaitė, I. (2010). Vartotojų elgsenos modelių taikymas internetinėje rinkodaroje. Management theory and studies for rural business and infrastructure development, Nr. 5 (24), p Kuzminskaitė, M. (2012). Vartotojų elgsena prekyboje pramonine energetikos įranga. 15-osios Lietuvos jaunųjų mokslininkų konferencijos Mokslas Lietuvos ateitis 2012 metų teminės konferencijos straipsnių rinkinys: Verslas XXI amžiuje, p Leonavičius, V., Baltrušaitytė, G., Naujokaitė, I. (2007). Sociologija ir sveikatos priežiūros paslaugų vartotojas. Kaunas: Vytauto Didžiojo universiteto leidykla. Maslow, A. H. (2009). Motyvacija ir asmenybė. Vilnius: Apostrofa. Mosadeghrad, A. M. (2014). Patient choice of a hospital: implications for health policy and management. International Journal of Health Care Quality Assurance, Vol. 27, Issue 2, p Naktinytė, R., Vainikonytė, J. (2012). Šiuolaikinio vartotojo elgsenos ypatumai. Mūsų socialinis kapitalas žinios. 12-oji studentų mokslinė konferencija, pranešimų medžiaga. Kaunas: Technologija, p Narang, R., Polsa P., Soneye, A., Fuxiang, W. (2015). Impact of hospital atmosphere on perceived health care outcome. International Journal of Health Care Quality Assurance, Vol. 28, Issue 2, p Pabedinskaitė, A., Šliažaitė, V. (2012). Vartotojų elgsena elektroninėje prekyboje. Verslas: teorija ir praktika, Nr. 13 (4), p Petrauskienė, A., Zabėlienė, V. (2011). Socialinis darbas pirminėje psichikos sveikatos priežiūros institucijoje: paslaugų kokybės aspektas. Socialinis darbas, T. 10, Nr. 2, p Pilelienė, L. (2008). Vartotojų lojalumo formavimas: ryšių marketingo aspektai. Vadybos mokslas ir studijos kaimo verslų ir jų infrastruktūros plėtra, Nr. 14 (3), p Pruskus, V. (2007). Gando tapsmas: komunikacinio ritualo etapai. Filosofija. Sociologija, T. 18, Nr. 2, p

81 ISSN (Print), ISSN (Online). Regional Formation and Development Studies, No. 1 (21) Skačkauskienė, I., Toropovaitė, K. (2011). Ryšių marketingo kaip vartotojų lojalumą formuojančio veiksnio tyrimas. Scientific Conference Contemporary Issues in Business, Management and Education, p Stašys, R., Malikovas, A. (2010). Vartotojo lūkesčiams darantys įtaką veiksniai. Vadybos mokslas ir studijos kaimo verslų ir jų infrastruktūros plėtra, Nr. 22 (3), p Švedaitė, E. (2012). Natūralaus vartotojo potyrio įtakos priklausomybė nuo informacijos paskirstymo dėsningumų. Mokslas Lietuvos ateitis, Nr. 4 (1), p Tamulienė, V., Mažrimė, A. (2014). Ekologiškų produktų vartojimo kultūrai Lietuvoje darantys įtaką veiksniai. Vadybos mokslas ir studijos kaimo verslų ir jų infrastruktūros plėtrai: mokslo žurnalas, T. 36, Nr. 3, p Tronvoll, B. (2007). Customer complaint behaviour from the perspective of the service-dominant logic of marketing. Managing Service Quality: An International Journal, Vol. 17, Issue 6, p Urbanskienė, R., Clottey, B., Jakštys, J. (2000). Vartotojų elgsena. Kaunas: Technologija. Vaitkienė, R., Pilibaitytė, V. (2008). Vertės vartotojui kūrimo ir santykių su vartotojais vystymo procesus integruojantis modelis. Taikomoji ekonomika: sisteminiai tyrimai, T. 2, Nr. 2, p Vanagienė, V., Ramanauskienė, J. (2007). Vartotojų lojalumo prekės ženklui įvertinimas. Vadybos mokslas ir studijos kaimo verslų ir jų infrastruktūros plėtra, Nr. 11 (4), p Vanagienė, V., Ramanauskienė, J. (2008). Prekės ženklo svarba ir jo vertės kūrimo galimybės. Vadybos mokslas ir studijos kaimo verslų ir jų infrastruktūros plėtra, Nr. 2 (13), p Zikienė, K. (2009). Vartotojų lojalumas: pakeitimo elgsenos formavimosi modelis. Vadybos mokslas ir studijos kaimo verslų ir jų infrastruktūros plėtrai, Nr. 18 (3), p Zikienė, K. (2010). Lojalių vartotojų galimos pakeitimo elgsenos formavimosi modelis. Organizacijų vadyba: sisteminiai tyrimai, Nr. 53, p RESEARCH ON CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR: CHOOSING DENTAL SERVICES IN THE WESTERN REGION OF LITHUANIA Deimena Kiyak, Linara Pranckevičiūtė, Ieva Volskytė Klaipėda University (Lithuania) Summary Consumer behaviour affects the four main factors, such as: psychological, social, purchase considerations, and marketing factors. In today s global marketplace, service / product added intangible value has a significant impact on the final customer solution. Traditionally, the value to the consumer is perceived through received product/service price and quality. However, these days the value to the consumer has a much broader meaning: value is no longer limited to just price and quality, but also includes other aspects. In the medical field, as well as in other product / services sectors, the same basic factors influence consumer behaviour. The literature identifies the key 10 P criteria (product, place, price, physical environment, personnel, process, package, performance, position, promotion) that affect a customer (in this case a patient), which also determine the biased consumer evaluation of services. Moreover, the field of medicine is exceptional insofar as patients are often psychologically vulnerable. In other words, psychological factors for consumer behaviour are even more important than in any other field. For instance, previous personal experience can be decisive when evaluating services and quality of medical professionalism. The survey sought to identify what factors (creation of institutional environment, technologies used for services, price of services) influence most when making choices among dental services. In order to assess how environmental factors affect the patients behaviour the authors carried out a pilot survey in Klaipėda. The respondents were given a structured questionnaire, later, with each of them, were conducted semistructured interviews. It is observed from the survey results, that most patients are interested in cost of services, location of a clinic, personnel classification, equipment used in a clinic, as well as the period of time in waiting for services. In Lithuania, consumers pointed out as the most important factors: quality of dental 81

82 Deimena Kiyak, Linara Pranckevičiūtė, Ieva Volskytė VARTOTOJŲ ELGSENOS RENKANTIS ODONTOLOGŲ PASLAUGAS TEIKIANČIĄ ĮSTAIGĄ TYRIMAS VAKARŲ LIETUVOJE services, materials used and equipment. It obvious that when choosing a provider of dental services, people with lower income prefer public clinics. Yet consumers with higher income are looking for better quality services, therefore they are likely to choose private dental clinics. The results show that patients in Lithuania indicate medical service supply and availability as the most important factors and they determine the choice of public clinics. On the other hand, when selecting a private clinic, patients evaluate such factors as physical environment, assessment of a clinic and its internal provisions. To summarise, public clinics could become more competitive only if they convinced consumers about their capability to provide quality services, to use modern technologies and medical equipment. KEYWORDS: medicininių paslaugų vertinimas, odontologų paslaugos, vartotojų elgsenos tyrimas. JEL CODES: D100; I110; M300 Gauta: Priimta: Pasirašyta spaudai:

83 ISSN (Print), ISSN (Online). Regional Formation and Development Studies, No. 1 (21) COASTAL sustainable DEVELOPMENT STUDIES in latvia: INTEGRATED local social-ecological systems governance Erika Lagzdina 1, Ivars Kudrenickis 2, Raimonds Ernsteins 3, Janis Kaulins 4 University of Latvia (Latvia) Abstract Importance of sustainable coastal governance also in the Baltic sea region has been widely recognised and since such governance has to have integrative nature that requires horizontal cross-sectorial integration as well as involvement of all governance levels and subsequently organisation of vertical integration among the levels. Besides some succesfull local cases around Europe, mainly special outside projects based, there is to be recognized that the municipal integrated sustainable coastal governance has not been yet neither well and widely locally developed in practice nor sufficiently researched field in order to permit necessary design of adequate policy innovations. Practical development and local realisation of the municipal integrated coastal governance often encounters obstacles of the basic nature, e.g. because there are not sufficiently understood and applied cross- and trans-disciplinary approaches studies and governance of the coastal territories as the complex social-ecological systems (SES). For understanding the process and structure of coastal governance, application of system thinking and system dynamics methods are to be emphasized as well. The paper demonstrates adaptation of coastal nature studies based System Analysis Framework (SAF) methodology for its application to coastal governance studies and general municipal governance system adjusting and upgrading towards coastal issues, what could be seen as the new step for SAF further planned developments. As the part of the EU BONUS programme BaltCoast project, the authors performed, including main stakeholders participation elements, the issue identification step, system definition and also a conceptual model building steps of the SAF methodology application in the particular, local governance innovations rich, case study territory Salacgriva municipality in Latvia. Coastal governance problems in Latvia are especially relevant for rural coastal municipalities with limited administrative capacities and long and low populated coastline territories. The next SAF application steps will include development of coastal governance system scenarios using a systems modelling tool and the design and testing of complementary set of governance instruments as science-policy interface, that shall support sustainable use of coastal resources in the interests of coastal nature and culture protection, and local socio-economic development. Keywords: coastal governance and resources, social-ecological system, stakeholders, system analysis framework. JEL CODES: Q, Q5, Q56, Q58 DOI: 1 Erika Lagzdina University of Latvia, Department of Environmental Science, Environmental Governance and Communication Scientific interests: environmental governance, ecology erika.lagzdina@lu.lv Tel Ivars Kudreņickis University of Latvia, Department of Environmental Science, Environmental and Climate Change Governance Scientific interests: environmental governance, ecology ivars.kudrenickis@lu.lv 3 Raimonds Ernšteins University of Latvia, Department of Environmental Science, Environmental and Coastal Governance Scientific interests: environmental governance, ecology raimonds.ernsteins@lu.lv 4 Janis Kauliņš University of Latvia, Department of Environmental Science, Environmental Governance and Indicator Systems Scientific interests: environmental governance, ecology janis.kaulins@lu.lv 83

84 Erika Lagzdina, Ivars Kudrenickis, Raimonds Ernsteins, Janis Kaulins COASTAL SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT STUDIES IN LATVIA: INTEGRATED LOCAL SOCIAL-ECOLOGICAL SYSTEMS GOVERNANCE Introduction Coastal marine-terrestrial systems are based on interconnected elements of complex resources systems consisting of all sustainability dimentions as natural, socio-economic and governance resources coastal territories are to be seen as social-ecological systems (SES). Instability of the coastal systems that can be interpreted in terms of quality and quantity of resources and the system s ability to provide eco-system services, including resilience to climate changes, is caused by inadequate use, protection and management of the coastal territories in general. There is a need for a systemic approach and the instruments that would support our ability to understand, simulate, and communicate changes in the coastal systems, and respond adequately through the governance sub-system, including stakeholders and a whole set of governance instruments. The scientific problem discussed in the paper analyses how to improve the coastal governance process and decision making procedure. Evidently, such an improvement shall be based on two principles: high quality information, provided by science research/studies, and multi-stakeholder involvement. To unite both these requirements in a comprehensive tool, the System Analysis Framework (SAF) methodology had been developed and tested via application of it at 18 coastal study sites within the SPICOSA project (Hopkins, et al., 2012). The SAF is ment to be a tool for the transition to sustainable development in coastal systems. The knowledge gained from SAF applied experiments concerns the practical aspects for the development: governance in terms of policy effectiveness; sustainability science in terms of applying transdisciplinary science to social-ecological problems; simulation analysis in terms of quantifying dysfunctions in complex systems; partnership among research, management, and stakeholders as for a quantitative basis for collaborative decision making (Hopkins, et al., 2012). The paper presents the testing results by the University of Latvia research team of the SAF application for providing governance options in the complex coastal governance systems, which overcomes the borders of the single located, if even interconnected, problems. The application of SAF for analysis of the coastal governance system development, in comparison to mainly known nature systems governance studies, is a certain innovation in the SAF s application into practice. In order to elaborate governance options, the preconditions are balanced sharing of information with stakeholders, creation of space for common dialogue and repeated (issue-by-issue) communication with stakeholders (Mette, 2011). In such understanding, the SAF contribution to coastal governance development is dedicated to understanding and diagnosing, but not to providing the end-user with panacea this is an important difference, as the end-user is a partner in the coastal governance options development process (Ostrom et al., 2007). At the same time, as underlined by E. Ostrom (2009), the system specific monitoring and compatible multidisciplinary databases are essential precondition as well as the need to increase the capacity for governance problems analysis. 1. Coastal rural municipality case study: Salacgriva municipality site The length of the Latvian coastline is about 500 km. It provides a living space for about 0.9 million people that consitutes 45% of the country s population. Four out of the total of 17 municipalities on the coast are considerably large cities, where 91% of the coastal permanent residents live. Other 9% of the population live in small and medium size rural municipalities with respective life style, production and land use patterns. Generally, substantial part of the coastal area and its natural resources in Latvia are located in the low population density territories. Therefore, for analysis of the coastal governance processes, structure building elements, and instruments, it was essential to select an adequate case study. Salacgriva municipality belongs to a group of small rural municipalities and is representative in this respect. The municipal coastline stretches for 55.5 km. It is one of the longest municipal shore lines in the country. The total area of the municipality is 638 km 2 and the population size is ca.7800 inhabitants, out of whom more than one third lives in the town named Salacgriva. Population density in Salacgriva municipality is 12 residents per km 2 that is almost three times below the average value in the country. Removing Salacgriva and Ainazi towns from the statistics, population density in the remaining rural areas is only 7 residents per km 2. Moreover, since 2009 the size of 84

85 ISSN (Print), ISSN (Online). Regional Formation and Development Studies, No. 1 (21) the population decreases and 10% decrease (in absolute figures it makes 900 people) was fixed in years until Such trend is very typical to the rural areas of the territory. This indicates rapid loss in the coastal local human capital. Exploration of the coastal situation in the municipality allows to identify characteristics of the territory that are relevant to the coastal resources management (they are grouped in three blocks based on the coastal socio-ecological system approach) Nature and culture resources There is a considerably strict nature protection regime as the municipality is located in the North Vidzeme Biosphere Reserve a specially protected nature territory administered by the state run Nature Protection Agency. Four nature reserves with strict regimes are located directly in the coastal zone, three of them belong to the Nature 2000 sites. All coastal area is under landscape protection or buffer zone regime. Adjacent areas are under the neutral regime, and thus human activities are generally allowed there. Three rivers (Salaca, Svetupe, and Vitrupe) provide a native Baltic salmon for habitats, meanwhile, Salaca is used by the water tourists. Besides, there are numerous cultural and industrial heritage sites Economic resources The main local economy sectors are agriculture, forestry, fishery, tourism, and retail. Almost one third of the land is used for agriculture. Thus, a risk of water pollution due to the river runoffs shall be considered under control. Moreover, 53% of the land belong to the private sector owners (85% to private persons), about 39% (mostly forest lands) belong to the State. The State is a legal owner of the beach. In 2015, Law on Land Governance stipulated rights of the municipalities to manage coastal territories within their administrative boundaries, unless lands are no longer governed by the state institutions (ministries). As municipality is not the main landowner in this situation, it is essential to develop partnership with other landowners and stakeholders to ensure the use of resources and sustainable coastal management. The municipality is crossed and actually physically is split into two parts by the international motorway ViaBaltica with high traffic intensity and heavy transit flows. That creates additional stress to the coastal resources. However, this transit road provides opportunities for tourism, as distance to the neighbouring Estonia and Lithuania and their capitals is moderate. Local asphalted roads connect Salacgriva municipality with the regional center of North Vidzeme in Valmiera that is located 94 km inland. In future, an important infrastructure element will be the projected international railway Rail Baltica. There are two ports in the area: Salacgriva trading port and Kuivizi yacht port. The dominating type of cargos in Salacgriva are of forestry and wood production. The both ports taken together can accept 45 yachts. Besides, Kuivizi port owns a Blue Flag certificate for its environmental performance. The important asset is the European cycling rote Iron Curtain Trail along the coast Social and governance resources A unique local governance element is the Villages leaders institution that provides reciprocal link between the central administration and the village people. It maintains information flow and assists communities in solving their daily problems. Villages leaders are established also as the municipal consultative council and shall evolve as a critical link for involvement of the local people in the coastal development activities. There are several types of local NGOs, though their activities are mostly orientated to small interest groups, and they are limited in size and insufficienty coordinated. The Youth organization and Entrepreneurs Council takes an active part in the local decision making. Also quite a number of village development based NGOS s are to be mentioned particularly. There is need to link disperse NGO and business efforts on the co- 85

86 Erika Lagzdina, Ivars Kudrenickis, Raimonds Ernsteins, Janis Kaulins COASTAL SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT STUDIES IN LATVIA: INTEGRATED LOCAL SOCIAL-ECOLOGICAL SYSTEMS GOVERNANCE ast by enhancing mutually beneficial cooperation. The role of formal and, especially, non-formal educational sector (tourism information centre, libraries, museums) currenty is to raise public environmental awareness and to provide not only coastal information, but also whole set of coastal communition instruments besides information, also education/training, participation and environmentally responsible behavior. The situation analysis shows that the capacity and resources of the Salacgriva municipality for adequate governance of the coastal resources are insufficient. Thus, the main governance principle for the sustainable coastal governance should be based on collaboration and use of other stakeholders / society s capacity (resources). This is relevant for other Latvian coastal rural municipalities as well. Salacgriva municipality was selected for the case study because of its diverse coastal resources that provide sufficient material for analysis and application of the system analysis methodology. Besides, it is a unique case from a perspective of coastal governance elements that create a set of preconditions for testing coastal governance approaches and ensuring involvement of local stakeholders in problem solving. Taking into account specifics of the municipality, it was decided to focus the research on finding the answers on how to improve coastal governance system based on collaboration among stakeholders that are a key driving force for integrated and sustainable coastal management that consists of protection, use and development of coastal socio-economic, natural and cultural resources. 2. Research methodology and approach Significance of the environmental, economic, social, and cultural value of the coast is widely recognised. This is a space, a resource and a source of ecosystem services and serves for well-being of the society. Coastal territories are vulnerable to the impacts from the global processes (climate change, pollution etc.), besides they are subjects to pressure from human activities on land and in the sea. Human activities are driven by the interests of different stakeholders, which may contradict, what causes additional pressure on the coastal resources. On the other hand, a coast is a territory of the interaction of diverse human needs: needs of local coastal citizens (permanent residents and newcomers); needs of visitors (short term visitors as one day tourists, by-passers, and long term visitors who stay and use local resources and services); and needs of human society (which are represented and safeguarded by the national state institutions and environmental NGOs). Each of these groups focuses on particular resources which serve the best for satisfaction of their needs. As a result, coastal resources management is unsustainable and as such it cannot serve for society either at the national or local (municipal) level. The SAF provides a research methodology to investigate functions of systems in order to stimulate specific questions concerning their function (Hopkins et al., 2011). It provides a tool to use scientific knowledge in support of decision-making on the coastal zone management. The SAF is a holistic, issue oriented investigation that allows to overcome barriers created by separation of ecological, social, economic, and governance systems. The SAF application for a particular case study, which is described in this paper, include the following steps: 1) issue identification and stakeholders analysis; 2) system definition; 3) conceptual model design. Based on the local situation and coastal policy processes in Latvia, the eight steps approach to the project implemetation were designed by the research team (Figure 1). The national level governance system (national top-down approach) usually works as an external driving force that provides guidance for stakeholders at all levels. The Sustainable Development Strategy of Latvia until 2030 acknowledges that the Baltic Sea coast is a unique area of national interest, where preservation of nature and cultural heritage should be balanced with the economic development. The National mid term Strategy for Coastal Spatial Development for envisages development of the coast as a multifunctional space where appropriate infrastructure serves for development and adaptation to climate change. A National Long-Term Thematic Plan for the Coastal Area of the Baltic Sea states two national priorities: coastal infrastructure and collaborative governance. 86

87 ISSN (Print), ISSN (Online). Regional Formation and Development Studies, No. 1 (21) Figure 1. Stepwise approach for the research and development of the coastal resource governance system The local level governance system (local top-down approach) is underdeveloped at both planning and implementation levels. Initial studies identify the insufficient link also between national and local level planning documents. Generally, local planning is not very much related to the coastal issues, and as a result, activities to secure integrated coastal management at local level are quite limited. However, noteworthy that Salacgriva pioneered in Latvia by adopting the Green Municipality Declaration in 2010 and Climate Change Adaptation Strategy in All municipalities since 2014/2015 do have a mandatory Sustainable Development Strategy until 2030 as well. The mentioned documents include coastal issues. However, the municipality is currently starting to work on the Spatial Plan for and this provides opportunity for integration of coastal issues and for the stakeholders discussions on better governance of the costal resources. Also, mentioned above, pioneering bottom-up approach elements do continue developments, supported by municipality leadership. Studies done and stakeholders s consultations have been stressing necessity to facilitate collaboration governance approach for the coastal resources governance (complementary top-down and bottom-up approaches), and, based on this, to develop a set of coastal governance instruments. The process starts with a comprehensive assessment of four elements of the coastal social-ecological system (SES), i.e., natural (ecological), social and cultural, economic and governance resources. 3. Application of SAF in coastal governance studies 3.1. Issue identification The issue identification step started with desk studies that provided wide knowledge about the integration of coastal issues into various policies and territorial planning documents, and allowed to conclude that there 87

88 Erika Lagzdina, Ivars Kudrenickis, Raimonds Ernsteins, Janis Kaulins COASTAL SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT STUDIES IN LATVIA: INTEGRATED LOCAL SOCIAL-ECOLOGICAL SYSTEMS GOVERNANCE is a lack of coastal management instruments at all governance levels; human and institutional capacity and public awareness of coastal issues is insufficient, and stakeholders interest in efficient and sustainable use of the coastal resources and coastal potential in general is also low. The method for issue identification was based on the iterative multi-step approach (Figure 2.) with numerous tools applied for indepth investigations (e.g., field studies, surveys, and stakeholders seminars). Each next step extended the understanding of the researchers and participants on the coastal issues and supplemented or even modified earlier results/conlcusions. Figure 2. The iterative issue identification process The information gathered from desk studies and social surveys provided a basis for expert brainstorming exercise that resulted in a list of 16 priority problems. The SAF methodology envisages a detailed analysis of the human activities that cause problems and identification of the role of stakeholders groups in respect to those problems. After summing up all interlinkages, inter-dimensional elements, relation to the ecosystem services and involvement of stakeholders (Table 1), a final list of 19 problems was developed. For further analysis, it was broken into five clusters depending on problem complexity and relationship with stakeholders. Another SAF element was the DPSIR approach (Drivers-Pressures-State-Impacts-Responses) that was used to analyse the cause-effect chains within the coastal system. The DPSIR analysis logic in this case was based on categories of needs represented by the three main stakeholders groups: local citizens, visitors, and the wider human society. 88

89 ISSN (Print), ISSN (Online). Regional Formation and Development Studies, No. 1 (21) Problems Restricted access to the sea: dense coastal residential construction structure. Private property rights Coastal (ground cover) erosion Limited access to the coast for people with special needs Coast erosion: winds, storms, damage to roads, risk to property and public infrastructure Overflooding of some territories causing risk of property damage and risk of pollution of drinking water Risk of degradation of valuable coastal biotopes (Natura 2000 sites) Bad sea water quality: limited water exchange in some places, blue algae Human safety in bathing /swimming places Nutrients (N, P) pollution load from rivers Pollution form individual households untreated wastewaters Potential pollution from industrial sites. Improper transport operations Forest damage risks due to storms, fires etc. Marine litter Table 1. Multi-criteria analysis of coastal problems (stakeholders dimension) Stakeholders causing problems Landowners (1 st building line) Local people; Visitors; Owners of vehicles Project managers, services business Visitors, Landowners, Entrepreneurs Local administration, Households Farmers Individual households Salacgriva port firms Visitors; Ship owners; Entrepreneurs Stakeholders interested in solving problems Local administration; Local population; Local community organizations; The next building line landowners; Beach visitors Local administration; Visitors; State environmental institutions; Local population NGOs / Environmental NGOs Local administration; Handicapped persons and their families; NGO Local administration; Landowners; Entrepreneurs; Road users; Insurance companies; Local population Local administration; Landowners; Entrepreneurs; Insurance companies Landowners; State environmental institutions; NGOs; Visitors Local population; Visitors Local administration; Local population; Visitors; State health institutions; State rescue and safety service Local administration; Fishermen; NGO; Visitors Local administration; Fishermen; NGO; Visitors; State environmental institutions Landowners; State environmental institutions; NGO Forest owners; Forest managers; Local administration; NGOs Local administration; Visitors; Entrepreneurs; NGOs and community organizations; Local population Risk of degradation of nature and culture capital Entrepreneurs; Craftsmen; Local population; Local administration; Visitors; Development and interests groups NGOs/ Envir.NGO High local seasonal pressures Visitors Local administration; Entrepreneurs; Landowners Construction of residential buildings on coast Insufficiently managed coastal territories with low population density Insufficient environmental management and governance capacity Landowners Local administration Local people Local administration Local administration; Local people; Local community organizations; The next building line landowners; Entrepreneurs; Visitors Local municipality; Environmental NGO; State environmental institutions; Landowners; Entrepreneurs; Local farmers Local administration; Environmental NGO; State environmental institutions; Landowners; Entrepreneurs; Farmers Limited coastal communication Local administration Local administration; NGO; Local population; Landowners; Entrepreneurs; Local community organizations 89

90 Erika Lagzdina, Ivars Kudrenickis, Raimonds Ernsteins, Janis Kaulins COASTAL SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT STUDIES IN LATVIA: INTEGRATED LOCAL SOCIAL-ECOLOGICAL SYSTEMS GOVERNANCE 3.2. Stakeholder mapping and involvement in problem identification Identification and mapping of all stakeholders and institutions involved in the coastal governance is one of the key SAF elements and it is used to explore governance practices and build governance models. Social interviews of the selected 19 stakeholder representatives provided additional information for problem identification and supplemented material for the problem description and analysis. Expert material and outcomes from these interviews provided substantial content for the first discussions with the local stakeholders that took place during an interactive seminar. The seminar aimed at introducing the initial study results to the stakeholders involving them into discussion about coastal issues, as well as encouraging them to identify their interests and explore opportunities for the coastal resources conservation, protection, use and development. Participants of the stakeholders seminar identified a number of impediments for sustainable management of their coastal territory. Most of the complaints related to restrictions for coastal management set by the national regulatory acts (particularly, in the fields of environment, health, construction, and entrepreneurship). As a result, the state of the coast and its quality is worsening. However, development of the coastal infrastructure is limited which causes such adverse effects as beach and dunes pollution, degradation of land cover, and fragmentation of biotopes. A secondary effect is insufficient access to the coast and the sea that results in inefficient use of opportunities and coastal resources for economic benefit. Moreover, restrictions in use of mechanical transport means behind the dunes and on the beach, influences the ways how the beach can be managed/cleaned and services provided for visitors. For instance, active tourism users cannot bring their equipment to the seashore. Coastal forests are improperly managed due to the overregulated protected nature zones. Construction restrictions limit or even completely block the opportunities to develop small infrastructure for sports, recreation, public facilities and infrastructure for people with special needs. Construction limitations have an impact on private housing and its extension. At the same time in some place the access to the sea is completely blocked due to a new residential building with a fence system. Besides, participants identified that communication with the municipal services in general is adequate, though it is not specifically related to the environmental or coastal issues. The municipal coastal management activities are very limited and the capacity to perform them is insufficient. Even though, the village s leader as an institution was recognized as an essential element of local governance, but practice shows that it is not used efficiently enough. Likewise, problems were identified in the field of waste management becauseof lack of control of the individual household s contracts for waste collection. As a result of all previous study steps, the research team concluded that there is no uniform stakeholders understanding on what are the real problems on the coast. There are few problems that are mainly disperse and place specific, however, they are also perceived differently by different people (stakeholders). On the other hand, there is no fierce critic existing in none of the stakeholder groups. Furthermore, unclear is the stakeholders willingness to establish closer cooperation among themselves. Business interest in the cooperation is also inexplicit and quite weak, however, the municipality, as decisive factor, is not taking the lead in establishing public-private partnership. This justifies a need for an extensive and inclusive discussion with stakeholders so that to facilitate creation of a uniform vision for the role of each stakeholder group in identifying, using, protecting and developing coastal resources; it should be a central value of the municipality seeking for common benefit. The municipal thematic planning is an activating instrument and opportunity to address this issue and find consensus among stakeholders on the integration of their concerns and interests in the coastal development agenda. In general, two essential conclusions were drawn after the coastal issues analysis. Firstly, there are few local coastal territories where resources are over exploited or used in the interests of a limited stakeholder group or even individuals, this creates additional stress on resources, as well as environmental pollution and distrust among other stakeholders. At the same time, there are local coastal territories where resources are undermanaged, causing risks for further degradation of coastal resources. Thus, the central problem to be analysed using the SAF approach is: limited and unsustainable coastal resource management at the local 90

91 ISSN (Print), ISSN (Online). Regional Formation and Development Studies, No. 1 (21) municipal level is hampering the local development and causing coastal degradation which is a threat to the sustainability of resources System definition The main components of the Social-Ecological System (SES) were defined based on the sustainable development approach: coastal systems are based on interconnected elements of the complex resources system consisting of natural, cultural, socio-economic, and governance resources (systems). This concept of four systems served as a basis for the model development. Concept of material flows and material assets were selected as convenient and transferrable for the system modelling, if quantifiable parameters are used to measure flows. A number of hazards which may affect the system were identified. In general, the overall system is stable and it does not have large conflicts, though each separate component of the system is characterized by inner instability that may grow / resonate (Table 2). Table 2. Coastal social-ecological system components SES components Material flows Hazards Main Ecological components: 1. Shore line 2. Beach and coastal dunes 3. Valuable biotopes and habitats 4. Coastal forests 5. Marine resources (fish, algae) 6. Water quality 7. Weather conditions 8. Sand and stones Main Social components: 1. Local people permanent residents 2. Local people (newcomers) 3. Seasonal visitors (short and long term) 4. Buildings for living 5. Communal services 6. Cultural heritage 7. Educational institutions 8. Local NGOs (number) 9. Welfare conditions 10. Education level 11. Social equity 12. Ccoastal security and civil protection Main Economic components: 1. Local business enterprises: large, small 2. Variety of services (business/ municipal) 3. Municipal budget 4. Local inhabitants income 5. Land market 6. Ports Main Ecological flows: 1. Marine litter 2. Nutrients flow (by natural systems) 3. Sediments 4. Coastal erosion 5. Floods 6. Wind falls Main Social flows (materials of human origin): 1. Human-born litter/municipal waste 2. Nutrients flow (human induced in direct coastal territories/ households) 3. Communal waste flows (waste, waters) 4. Loss of traditions Main Economic flows: 1. Visitors/tourists flow 2. Investment flows (private, municipal, state) 3. Value added (VA) Ecological hazards induced out of system: Climate risks (storms, extreme weather conditions, floods, rain falls) Ship pollution Algae blooming Fires ( forest) Social hazards: Brains outflow (loss of intelligent/ active people) Disbelieve in democracy/voluntary approach Urbanization and change of social patterns Economic hazards: Loss of visitors interest (in coastal territory/municipality cultural heritage) Loss of particular interest groups/ visitors (because of insufficient services/safety) State restrictions not favouring investments, business development Restricted access to EU funding (for specific municipal interests) 91

92 Erika Lagzdina, Ivars Kudrenickis, Raimonds Ernsteins, Janis Kaulins COASTAL SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT STUDIES IN LATVIA: INTEGRATED LOCAL SOCIAL-ECOLOGICAL SYSTEMS GOVERNANCE SES components Material flows Hazards Main Governance components: 1. Local administration capacity 2. Local regulation acts 3. Specific areas specialists (environmental/nature/culture) 4. Information/Participation mechanisms (elderly institution; councils etc) 5. NGOs (horizontal, village) 6. Other governance instruments Main Governance flows: 1.Environmental Communication 2. Specialists (on environment, coast, nature, tourism) Governance hazards: Administrative territorial reform Conflict between local and national development needs/interests Brain drain (loss of experienced people) In addition to the hazards, some knowledge gaps in governace were identified during the study: Lack of appropriate coastal management instruments at all levels of governance. Insufficient human/institutional capacity and focus on coastal issues. Low stakeholders knowledge and public awareness, thus consequently interest, in efficient / sustainable use of the coastal resources / potential. Insufficient knowledge on harmonization of the national and the local level planning documents. Limited knowledge on local planning related to specific coastal issues and integrated coastal management (ICM). Limited knowledge about the coastal communication (instruments and practical implementation) Conceptual model A conceptual model was developed through multiple iterations. The research team based its approach on environmental management objectives, namely, on the coastal resources that were characterized by: state of biological diversity (protection); state of environmental quality; and sustainable use (state and quantity) of natural resources. At the same time these elements allowed to discuss ecosystem services that provide resources and environment quality necessary for social and economic activities. Besides, culture goals were added to ensure that a concept of the unified coastal nature-culture heritage is maintained according to the prevailing planning policy in in Latvia. The coastal system comprises four systemic blocks: environmental, social, economic, and governance block; the latter has to become a central block in modelling exercise that allow to address an issue of unsustainable governance of coastal resources. The incoming flows into each of the system s blocks could change the state of the system both in a positive or a negative direction. Namely, Pollution flows impact is negative (-). However, Direct physical impact might be positive or negative (+/-), i.e., a positive impact can be reached in this case by establishing an adequate coastal infrastructure and restoration activities of the coastal environment. There are certain factors of the systems, which influence the system s behaviour, and which we set in the center as Environmental action models. The further logic of the analysis related to the external sub-systems that make impact on the main systems: 1) Local economic system and its activities. 2) Local Social system, the central element of which is households and their management practices or environmental activities. 3) Economic activities caused by the external factors and affecting the municipality (in Figure 3 described as Economic Transit System), the importance of this element is determined by a specific location of the Salacgriva municipality. 4) Marine litter as a globally emerging issue and also specifically on the Salacgriva coast. 92

93 ISSN (Print), ISSN (Online). Regional Formation and Development Studies, No. 1 (21) Figure 3. Conceptual model: results of the 1 st iteration 93

94 Erika Lagzdina, Ivars Kudrenickis, Raimonds Ernsteins, Janis Kaulins COASTAL SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT STUDIES IN LATVIA: INTEGRATED LOCAL SOCIAL-ECOLOGICAL SYSTEMS GOVERNANCE 5) External natural system (formed due to climate change, also identified as an external hazard). Their impact is witnessed by coastal erosion and algae blooming that cause direct social and economic impact (impact on tourists during the season, etc.). The coastal SES provides benefits for local economy and society (positive impact on the social system). One may expect return from the economic system in a form of investments in the development of the coastal / public infrastructure, and return from the social system impact in a form of the human resources/ specialists inflow. This return happens if appropriate environmental governance instruments, both at the national level and the local level, are in place. Besides, the impact of the international / EU environmental agreements, requirements and governance instruments should be taken into account as well. Therefore, by setting the factor Environmental action models in the center of the system, there are created links between environmental governance and governance instruments, which are at the disposal or should be developed by the municipal administration to influence directly the stakeholders actions and chosen behavioural models. The impact that is created using specific governance models and instruments influence stakeholders and push them towards the desired environmentally friendly activities/behaviours. Moreover, stakeholder groups that represent local social, economic systems and the economic transit system by crossing the action block are also influenced to determine the level of environmental friendliness of their actions. It has a positive direct impact on reduction of pollution and depletion of coast / resources. The environmental governance system (both at the national and local level) influences social and economic systems through environmental activities, one of which is generally named as environmental protection regime of the coastal ecosystems and is separately set, as this regime is a top-down management instrument (including the municipal thematic coastal plan, municipal regulatory acts related to the coastal area, etc.). During the second phase of the Conceptual model construction process construction of a mathematical model the research team actually increased the complexity and number of elements in subsystems. As a result, more variables and parameters were found to describe the system elements. In addition, the expert team knowledge was brought from an extensive planning metadata analysis performed by the research team members. Besides, particular emphasis was put on the definition of a Governance system and its elements within the model (Figure 3). Further, for the model presentation in STELLA there was elaborated the programming language which now is to be tested. Conclusions In the Latvian context, it appeared to be essential to find ways how to organise coastal governance (the governance process and structure) in the coastal rural territories, which are characterised by a small number of residents and low population density, but a long coastline. It principally affects the way how a territory and its resources shall be managed / governed. In most of the rural coastal territories in Latvia local coastal governance is comparatively underdeveloped and limited that results in unsustainable use of the coastal resources, thus preventing local development and causing coastal degradation which remains a threat to sustainability of the resources. However, limited capacity of the coastal municipality s administration (in terms of human resources and economic options) considerably affects the traditional top-down approach of the municipal governance realisation as well as its efficiency. The solution should be found in further development of the bottom-up governance models by strengthening the interaction of the top-down and bottom-up governance, i.e. collaboration in the governance development. The needs of the local coastal citizens interact with the needs of visitors and the wider society. Actually, it is necessary to find a balance between these needs. System Thinking and the application of System Analysis Framework (SAF) are tools that allow passing sequentially through various stages of the system analysis, thus arriving at the common denominator in the coast and coastal resources governance acceptable for all involved stakeholders. 94

95 ISSN (Print), ISSN (Online). Regional Formation and Development Studies, No. 1 (21) The SAF application is an innovative task, especially for the governance systems. Based on the general approach of the SAF, the authors applied in the case analysis a specifically designed step-wise approach seeking to develop the coastal resource governance system. The problem analysis performed by the authors demonstrates application of the problem analysis methodology in a situation which is typical for Latvian rural coastal territories there are not severely dominating problems in the majority of these territories, but there is relatively high amount of small problems which with important mutual synergy influence cause a multiplier effect. Finally, the authors arrived at the generic problems the solutions to which should be found focusing on the coastal governance system. The conceptual definition of the Social-Ecological System is based on the sustainable development approach, which propose thatcoastal systems are based on interconnected elements of the complex resources system consisting of natural, cultural, socio-economic, and governance resources (systems). Thus, the concept of four systems served as a basis for the model development. The concepts of material flows and material assets were selected as the most convenient characteristics from the system s dynamics perspective so that it was easier to transfer them for the system modelling needs. However, a number of hazards was identified which may affect the system. In general, the overall coastal system is stable and it does not have large conflicts, though each separate component of the system show inner instability of the system which may grow/expand and resonate thus affecting the stability of the whole system. The performed research and the paper was prepared with financial support of the BONUS programme project A Systems Approach Framework for Coastal Research and Management in the Baltic (BaltCoast). References Aall, C., Groven, K., Lindseth, G. (2007). The Scope of Action for Local Climate Policy: The Case of Norway. Global Environmental Politics, Vol. 7 (2), p Atkinson, R., Klausen, J. E. (2011). Understanding Sustainability Policy: Governance, Knowledge and the Search for Integration. Journal of Environmental Policy & Planning, Vol. 13, Issue 3, p Baker, S., Eckerberg, K. (2008). Introduction: in Pursuit of Sustainable at the Sub-national Level: The New Governance Agenda. In Pursuit of Sustainable Development: New Governance Practices at the Sub-national Level in Europe. Edited by S. Baker, K. Eckerberg. Routledge, p Bubeck, P., Botzen, W. J. W., Kreibich, H., Aerts, J. C. J. H. (2013). Detailed Insights into the Influence of Flood-coping Appraisals on Mitigation Behaviour. Global Environmental Change. Climate Change Adaptation Strategy of Salacgriva District. (2011). Salacgriva, 31 p. (in Latvian). Available at: Coastal Spatial Development Guidelines , Riga: RL MEPRD (in Latvian). Available at: polsis.mk.gov.lv/loadatt/file4375.docx. Conrad, C. C., Hilchey, K. G. (2011). A Review of Citizen Science and Community-Based Environmental Monitoring: Issues and Opportunities. Environmental Monitoring Assessment. No. 176, p Ernšteins, R., Antons, V., Stals, A., Lubuze, M., Šulga, D., Kursinska, S., Lice, E. (2012). Towards Complementary Municipal and Social Resilience Understanding: Stakeholder Training on Coastal Sustainability Governance and Communication. 12th International Multidisciplinary Scientific Geoconference SGEM Proceedings, Bulgaria, Albena, p Ernšteins, R., Kauliņš, J., Līce, E., Štāls, A. (2011). Integrated Coastal Management for Local Municipalities in Latvia: Sustainability Governance and Indicator System. WIT Transaction, Vol. 149, p Ernšteins, R., Lontone, A., Zvirbule, L., Antons, V., Zīlniece, I., Kauliņš, J., Vasariņa, L. (2012). Climate Change Adaptation Integration into Coastal Municipal Development: Governance Environment and Communication Preconditions. 12th International Multidisciplinary Scientific Geoconference SGEM Bulgaria, Albena, Proceedings, Academy of Science of Bulgaria, p Ernšteins, R., Lontone-Ieviņa, A., Kauliņš, J., Zvirbule, L., Strazdiņš, J., Šteinberga, Z., Kudreņickis, I., Zīlniece, I., Ķepals, A. (2014). Municipal Climate Change Adaptation Governance in Latvia: Approaching Cross-sectorial and Multi-instrumental Understanding. Journal of Regional Formation and Development Studies, Vol. 14, No. 3. Klaipeda: Klaipeda University, p Hopkins, S. T., Bailly, D., Elmgren, R., Glegg, G., Sandberg, A., Støttrup, J. G. (2012). A Systems Approach Framework for the Transition to Sustainable Development: Potential Value Based on Coastal Experiments. Ecology and Society, Vol. 17 (3), p

96 Erika Lagzdina, Ivars Kudrenickis, Raimonds Ernsteins, Janis Kaulins COASTAL SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT STUDIES IN LATVIA: INTEGRATED LOCAL SOCIAL-ECOLOGICAL SYSTEMS GOVERNANCE Jansen, H., Ernsteins, R., Stottrup, J., Dinesen, G., Povilanskas, R. (2016). A Retrospective Analysis of Best Practice Integrated Coastal Management Cases Around the Baltic Sea. International conference, 7th European Coastal Lagoons Symposium. Vindicating the Biological and Socioeconomical Importance of Transitional Waters, Thesis compendium. Spain, Murcia. Karpouzoglou, T., Dewulf, A., Clark, J. (2016). Advancing Adaptive Governance of Social-Ecological Systems through Theoretical Multiplicity. Environmental Science & Policy. Vol. 57, p Kudrenickis, I., Ernsteins, R., Kaulins, J. (2016). Sustainable Coastal Science-Policy-Practice Interface Development: Municipal Coastal Governance Indicator System. Environmental Science, No. 1, p Mader, C. (2013). Sustainability Process Assessment on Transformative Potentials: The Graz Model for Integrative Development. Journal of Cleaner Production, No. 49, p Mattor, K., Betsill, M., Huayhuaca, Ch., Huber-Stearns, H., Jedd, T., Sternlieb, F., Bixler, P., Luizza, M., Cheng, A. S. (2014). Transdisciplinary Research on Environmental Governance: A View from the Inside. Environmental Science & Policy, Vol. 42. Colorado: Colorado State University, p Meadows Dennis, L. (2004). Limits to Growth: The 30-Year Update. With Donella Meadows and Jørgen Randers, 363 p. Mette, A. (2011). Bridging the Gap between Science and Society. In: P. Tett, A. Sandberf, A. Mette, editors. Sustainable Coastal Zone Systems, Dunedin Academic Press, Edinburgh, UK, p Moles, R., Foley, W., Morrissey, J., O Regan, B. (2008). Practical Appraisal of Sustainable Development Methodologies for Sustainability Measurement at Settlement Level. Environmental Impact Assessment Review, No. 28, p Ostrom, E., Janssen, M. A., Anderies, J. M. (2007). Going beyond Panaceas. Proceedings of the National Academy of Science, Vol. 104 (39), p Ostrom, E. (2009). A General Framework for Analysing Sustainability of Social-Ecological Systems. Science, No. 325, p Salacgriva district council declaration on Green district. (2010). (In Latvian). Salacgriva District Sustainable Development Strategy and Salacgriva district development programm Salacgriva: Salacgriva District Council. (in Latvian). Shaw, K., Theobald, K. (2011). Resilient Local Government and Climate Change Interventions in the UK. Local Environment: The International Journal of Justice and Sustainability, No. 16, p State Long Term Thematical Plan for the Development of Baltic Sea Coastal Public Infrastructure. (2016). RL MEPRD (in Latvian). Available at: Waagsaether, K., Ziervogel, G. (2012). Bridging the Communication Gap: An Exploration of the Climate Science Water Management Interface. In W. Leal Filho (ed.), Climate Change and the Sustainable Use of Water Resources, Climate Change Management. INTEGRUOTOS PAKRANČIŲ VALDYMO PLĖTROS STUDIJOS LATVIJOJE: SISTEMOS ANALIZĖS METODIKOS PRITAIKYMAS Erika Lagzdina, Ivars Kudrenickis, Raimonds Ernsteins, Janis Kaulins Latvijos universitetas (Latvija) Santrauka Tvaraus pakrančių valdymo būtinybė pripažįstama visame pasaulyje. Siekiant tokį valdymą užtikrinti, reikia integralumo tiek horizontaliu sektorių, tiek vertikaliu valdžios lygmenimis. Municipaliniu lygmeniu tvarus pakrančių valdymas daugelyje jūrinių valstybių kol kas nėra nei pakankamai išplėtotas, nei ištirtas. Pakrančių valdyme dažnai susiduriama su labai paprastomis problemomis, bet jų sprendimai yra menkai suprantami municipaliniu lygmeniu ir praktiškai socioekologinių sistemų tyrimai bei valdymas nepritaikomi pakrančių teritorijose. Siekiant suprasti pakrančių valdymo struktūras ir jų veiksmus, būtina sistemingai mąstyti ir taikyti sistemų analizės metodus. Straipsnyje aprašytas gamtos mokslų pagrindais paremto sistemų analizės metodo (SAF) pritaikymas, kurio, mūsų žiniomis, dar niekas netaikė pakrančių valdymo sistemoms 96

97 ISSN (Print), ISSN (Online). Regional Formation and Development Studies, No. 1 (21) tirti. Autoriai kaip adaptavimo metodą ir tiriamąjį objektą pasirinko Salacrigva savivaldybę Latvijoje. Tolesni žingsniai galimų pakrančių plėtros scenarijų kūrimas, taikant vadovavimo modelius, kurie remiasi tvarios plėtros idėjomis, kai akcentuojama pakrančių išteklių ir gamtos apsauga bei vietinis socioekonominis vystymasis. Koncepcinis socioekologinės sistemos apibrėžimas paremtas tvarios plėtros požiūriu: pakrantės matomos kaip tarpusavyje susiję dėmenys su sudėtingomis išteklių sistemomis, kurias sudaro natūralios, kultūrinės, socioekonominės ir valdymo išteklių sistemos. Tad 4 sistemų konceptas tapo šio modelio kūrimo pagrindu. Materialių išteklių ir materialių išlaidų terminai pasirinkti kaip tinkamiausi žvelgiant iš sistemų dinamikos perspektyvos, nes atrodė, kad jie labiausiai tenkina sistemos modeliavimo poreikius. Išskirtos kelios problemos, kurios gali paveikti sistemą. Iš esmės pakrančių sistema yra stabili ir neturi didelių vidinių įtampos taškų, tačiau kiekvienas sistemos komponentas rodo vidinį nestabilumą, kuriam išaugus gali būti paveikta visa sistema. Tyrimai ir šis straipsnis parengti BONUS programos projekto Pakrančių tyrimų ir valdymo sistemų sandaros metodas Baltijos jūros regione (BaltCoast) lėšomis. PAGRINDINIAI ŽODŽIAI: pakrančių valdymas ir ištekliai, socioekologinė sistema, interesų grupės, sistemos analizės metodas. JEL KODAI: Q, Q5, Q56, Q58 Received: Revised: Accepted:

98 Rasa Paulienė INTERACTION BETWEEN MANAGERIAL COMPETENCIES AND LEADERSHIP IN BUSINESS ORGANISATIONS INTERACTION BETWEEN MANAGERIAL COMPETENCIES AND LEADERSHIP IN BUSINESS ORGANISATIONS Rasa Paulienė 1 Vilnius University (Lithuania) ABSTRACT In recent years, relationship-based theories and research have gained momentum resulting in emergence of numerous studies dealing with various aspects of leadership. Rapid changes in the business environment are associated with development of managerial competencies and improvements of leadership within organisations. The topic of the article owes its relevance to the fact that leadership development is seen as an increasingly important strategic imperative of an organisation; moreover, in order to survive and succeed in the present day s turbulent and highly competitive environment organisations need to develop leadership at all levels of the organisational structure. The research findings indicate that long-term success of New Leadership development initiatives depends on managerial competencies, two-way interaction between leaders and other members of the organisation, reciprocity and feedback. KEYWORDS: managerial competencies, leadership practices, New Leadership, 360-degree assessment. JEL CODES: M12, M19 DOI: Introduction Rapid changes in business, technology, political and social factors have called for the development of effective leadership skills and competencies. Consequently, leadership development programs have become an increasing priority for business and government, and even social organizations. Highly successful organizations focus on creating a comprehensive set of assessment and leadership development practices that support a wide range of talents across the organization (Groves, 2007; Casimir, 2001). Leadership is the art of getting someone else to do something you want done because he wants to do it these words were spoken, since then many theories on leadership and leadership styles have arisen. This is especially true in a complex and challenging economic climate when companies are expanding activities across international borders and competition is on the rise, whereas leaders frequently find themselves in positions of responsibility without direct authority. Critical to the success of any leadership development process is the ability to encourage followers to reflect on learning experiences in order to promote the transfer of knowledge and skills to work contexts (Burns, 2003; Day et al., 2008). As a result, leadership skills improvement tends to increase the effectiveness of interpersonal processes between leaders and followers, and consequently increases the followers motivation, and conclusively, determines leadership practices in an organization. Problem. The problem of the systemic assessment of factors affecting leadership and management combines a large number of relevant research and practical managerial elements which as yet have no 1 Rasa Pauliene PhD Vilnius University, Faculty of Economics, Business Department Scientific interest: leadership development, strategic management, strategic marketing management rasa.pauliene@ef.vu.lt Tel

99 ISSN (Print), ISSN (Online). Regional Formation and Development Studies, No. 1 (21) straightforward solutions. Different authors emphasise certain general dimensions of leadership, however, they emphasize different traits, skills and competencies of a leader and a manager and use different concepts. The authors emphasize the importance of leadership and its relevance in the context of organisations various activities, although it is difficult to compare or generalise theories, because they are based on a different approach both to leadership effectiveness, differences between a leader and a manager, and the interaction of managerial competencies and leadership in organisations. In the article, based on the systematic scientific principles, managerial competencies influencing leadership are analysed as components of a certain whole. From a theoretical perspective, the assessment of factors affecting leadership and management, and the interaction of competencies of different level managers and leadership within an organisation is significant from the following points of view: From a research perspective, there is a lack of clearly identified influence of managerial competencies on effective leadership and the link between managerial competencies or their combinations and leadership in organisations. Lack of clear identification of managerial competencies which allow effective leadership in organisations and the feedback of the leader s and his followers interaction (i.e., immediate subordinates, other managers and employees of an organisation). From a practical perspective, the topic of the article owes its relevance to the fact that leadership development is seen as an increasingly important strategic imperative of an organisation; moreover, in order to survive and succeed in the present day s turbulent and highly competitive environment organisations need to develop leadership at all levels of the organisational structure. Success, survival and longevity of organisations depend on the selection of future leaders and their development; hence it is obvious that development of leaders capable to overcome major difficulties is a considerable challenge for organisations of all sizes. Purpose. The purpose of this article is twofold. First, to overview scientists approach towards contradictory roles of leaders and managers as well as managerial competencies and leadership practices in organizations. Second, to propose research-based applications for New Leadership development in business organizations. Object. The research object is interaction of managerial competencies and leadership practices in Lithuanian financial sector organisations. Reciprocity-based relationships are associated with enhanced satisfaction of the organisation members, greater commitment to their organisation, higher productivity and lower staff turnover. Consequently, this leads to the question of who can be considered a competent manager of an organisation and what managerial competencies determine effective leadership, and again, what competencies managers of different levels must have seeking to achieve strategic goals, sustainable performance and longevity of organisations (Burns, 2003; Groves, 2007; Day el al, 2008). As it is presumable, managerial competencies should be considered in interaction with leadership practices within organisations. The research findings indicate that the long-term success of the New Leadership development initiatives depends on managerial competencies, two-way interaction between leaders and members of an organisation, reciprocity and feedback. 1. Contradictory roles of leaders and managers in organisations In order to reveal the phenomenon of successful management, some authors focus mainly on the pursuit of leader s activities and his/her ability to assume responsibility underlining the need of unconventional, i.e., different from others, thinking.. Others claim that the following features are of importance for a person in charge of a group of people: insight, discipline, enthusiasm, precision, the ability to identify links between phenomena, creativity, adjustment of personal modesty, obedience and professional goals (Waldman et al., 2004; Hernez-Broome, Hughes, 2004). Researchers proposing a different view argue that such a traditional approach to management of a group of people is possible only when organisations are understood as balance-seeking systems in which the individuals planning scenarios and controlling behaviours are aware of and envisage the future perspective of an organisation (Kurmet, Maaja, 2010; Jaussi, Dionne, 2004). Ne- 99

100 Rasa Paulienė INTERACTION BETWEEN MANAGERIAL COMPETENCIES AND LEADERSHIP IN BUSINESS ORGANISATIONS vertheless, researchers agree that managers are an example for employees in promoting values, adhering to standards of conduct, or in seeking for strategic goals, sustainable performance or longevity of organisations. Management and leadership in organisations reflect mutually complementary, though at times contradictory, roles; therefore, it is very important to separate a manager and a leader. Leadership is designed to address to confusion, because the order and procedures are to a certain extent a response to the emergence of large multinational organisations one of the most important events of the 20 th century. Without substantiated management, organisations plunge into chaos causing a threat to their existence. Substantiated management promotes order and sustainability in such key areas as quality and profitability. However, employees who are well managed may lose inspiration to achieve more. Only good leaders are able to continuously encourage this aspiration and to achieve extraordinary results with ordinary people. Good managers achieve the results of well-planned and well-performed tasks, but rarely experience great success resulting from enthusiastic devotion that is inspired by true leaders (Tichy, 1997; O Toole, 2001; Kaufman, 2011). Leadership is associated with change. To some extent, it has recently become so important due to the fact that the business world has become highly competitive, trend-oriented, dynamic, and constantly changing. Despite different approaches to leadership, its importance in today s world is not limited to an attempt to interpret it by integrating into organisational management; scientific discussions lead to an even broader expression of New Leadership. Researchers describe New Leadership as a dynamic, socially active and socially limited set of functions. A leader is seen as a person (an individual), however, it is more important that leadership as a social phenomenon manifests itself only as interaction of members of an organisation and does not make sense without them (Perrin et al., 2012; Nixon et al., 2012). This understanding is different from a widespread approach describing the leader as a person who performs assigned duties involving supervision of activities and achievement of the goals. Therefore, the focus is increasingly shifting to the development of leaders on all levels in an organisation; this is due to a major emphasis on successful involvement of human resources, which are the key source of competitive advantage for organisations. Under the conditions of continuously changing competitive environment, managers may not always be initiators of positive changes, and employees themselves often know best what could facilitate their work and make it more successful (Mahsud et al., 2010). Therefore, leadership has started to be seen as the organisation s ability, rather than an exceptional feature of a few top managers. On the other hand, organisations can be strong from a technical point of view, but weak in setting a vision and direction, which is a vital precondition for ensuring continuity and longevity of organisations. The long-term success of New Leadership development initiatives depends on organisational culture, managerial competencies, two-way interaction between leaders and other members of an organisation, reciprocity and feedback. 2. Manifestation of managerial competencies both in single division and organisation as a whole In recent years, leadership-oriented theories and research have gained momentum resulting in the emergence of numerous studies dealing with various aspects of leadership. Rapid changes in the business environment are associated with improvements in management of organisations and development of managerial competencies. An unconventionally thinking and innovation-oriented manager mobilises employees towards a common goal searching for ways to implement the vision. Such changes in the environment highlight transformation of the manager s role in the context of various activities of an organisation. Employees who positively view their manager not only perform the assigned tasks better, but are also more satisfied with work assessment and motivation, and are supportive in communicating with the manager and with each other (Boal, Hooijberg, 2001; Hunt, Dodge, 2001; Osborn, Hunt, 2007; Waldman et al., 2004). Therefore, managerial competencies are necessary not only in organising activities of employees, but also in selecting employee motivation tools, as well as dealing with conflict situations, rallying employees for teamwork and organising the communication process. Management of immediate subordinates has an impact on activities of the entire 100

101 ISSN (Print), ISSN (Online). Regional Formation and Development Studies, No. 1 (21) organisation, because optimal distribution of work and its performance determine the success of operations of not only a single division, but also the organisation as a whole (Dalakoura, 2010). However, managers of organisations fail to develop a strategic thinking competency necessary for effective leadership for reasons such as a long limited functional practice in the organisations where they work: organisations are usually based on collective decision-making practice and/or the practice of one-sided obligations of shareholders and parent companies, whereas little attention is paid to strategic skills, etc. In order to successfully implement their strategy, organisations need to develop the competencies of managers of various levels, because the performance of various levels managers contribute to the overall strategic goals of an organisation (Day et al., 2008; O Toole 2001; Tichy, Cardwell, 2002). Leaders are necessary on all levels of the organisational structure, especially selecting a competitive business strategy, as it helps an organisation to be sufficiently flexible, prompt in decision-making and to meet high requirements in development and implementation of a selected strategy. Latest researches include a multi-layer phenomenon of leadership, which covers higher collective levels (team, group or organisation) and identifies the factors determining the interaction of a leader and his followers, mainly: influence, confidence, decision-making process, reciprocity-based relationships, and leadership behaviour. Reciprocity-based relationships are associated with enhanced satisfaction of organisation members, greater commitment to the organisation, higher productivity and lower staff turnover; thus again, the question of who consider as a competent manager and what managerial competencies determine effective leadership remains. What competencies must have managers of different levels seeking to achieve strategic goals, sustainable performance and longevity of organisations? The conception of New Leadership emphasises two-way interactions of leaders and followers, as reciprocity between a leader and his/her followers as well as the quality of these relations are of utmost importance for New Leadership and long-term leadership practices within organisations. 3. Consideration of managerial competencies and leadership practices within organisations Leadership is considered in a number of contexts, with qualitative and quantitative research methods and their combinations being employed. The data pooled from various research allow formulating the concept of a process which is far more subtle and complex than a simplified approach often presented in popular literature on leadership. Based on scientific literature, leadership is considered to be a complex process that has multiple dimensions (Kouzes, Posner, 2004; Kouzes, Posner, 2007). While numerous leadership theories emphasise the ways in which theory can help practical leadership, there exists many possible endings for the sentence Leadership is.... In attempting to describe what leadership is, one encounters a variety of different meanings. Contemporary researchers believe that the main tasks of a good leader are as follows: to identify values and goals, to shape a vision and strategy, to programme continuity and to initiate targeted organisational changes (Day et al., 2008; Dion, 2012). Therefore, competencies necessary for successful leadership include envisaging the future, setting goals, communication, fostering values, an ability to achieve approval towards the emerging vision, planning and implementation of a vision. It is emphasised that New Leadership development is based on cognitive, social and emotional competencies as well as behavioural skills. These skills, along with such traits of a manager as self-awareness, openness, self-confidence and creativity, as well as cognitive, social and emotional intelligence competencies, serve as a basis for New Leadership. Therefore, in order to maintain long-term practices of effective leadership and high performance it is important for organisations to devote special attention to the development of cognitive, social and emotional intelligence competencies of managers at all levels of organizational structure. Leaders cannot clearly define each situation, adequately understand emerging problems and make reasonable decisions, as the future is a continuous creative process, while assessment of the past is constantly adjusted in light of the present perceptions (Boyatzis, 1982; McClelland, 1994; Spencer, Spencer, 1993). 101

102 Rasa Paulienė INTERACTION BETWEEN MANAGERIAL COMPETENCIES AND LEADERSHIP IN BUSINESS ORGANISATIONS Competencies presume better performance, however, there are no specific characteristics of a successful leader, as success depends on combinations of competencies. Individuals who have different competencies are able to successfully work in the same position, hence it is important to distinguish the key clusters of competencies. The term clusters of competencies is used to describe a certain group of competencies which, if properly used, can yield appropriate results. Considering the competencies, which have been distinguished based on empirical studies conducted in many countries around the world, and are essential for the 21 st century leaders and successful managers, three clusters may be identified (Boyatzis, 2007; Goleman, Boyatzis, McKee, 2007; Goleman, 1995): Emotional intelligence competencies the ability to recognise, understand and use emotional information about oneself. Social intelligence competencies the ability to recognise, understand and use emotional information about others. Cognitive intelligence competencies the ability to think and analyse information and situations. The growing number of studies encourages further research on a link between the individual s competencies and leadership and also on the impact of this link on other individuals activities. New Leadership opportunities exist on both the individual and collective levels. Leadership on both levels creates appropriate conditions for organisational leadership. Social influence theories argue that relationship between a leader and his followers determine successful leadership, however, not the features and behaviour of a manager. Such theories as New Leadership, have become a challenge to traditional theories of leadership, as they bring social and communication issues to the fore. The main gap in scientific theory and empirical research is the insufficiently well-analysed link between managerial competencies and New Leadership practices that occur in organisations (Amagoh, 2009; Groves, 2007). In the New Leadership studies, assessment of the interaction of managerial competencies and leadership practices in organisations must be accomplished on the basis of a systemic approach by grouping emotional, social and cognitive intelligence competencies into an integrated system in accordance with their characteristics and highlighting their inter-linkages. 4. Aim of the research and methodology The research pursues the aim of assessing the interaction of managerial competencies and leadership practices in the Lithuanian financial sector organisations. The tasks of the empirical research are: 1. To verify a conceptual model of the interaction of managerial competencies and leadership practices on the empirical level. 2. To identify competencies specific to managers working in financial sector organisations and leadership practices that occur in these organisations. 3. To determine the link between individual competencies or their combinations with leadership practices of the selected organisations. 4. To compare the influence of managerial competencies on leadership practices analysing the overall sample of respondents. 5. To compare the influence of managerial competencies on leadership practices analysing all groups of respondents (i.e., Managers and Observers). 6. To generalise assessments of managerial competencies in different groups of respondents. Evaluation of the interaction of managerial competencies and leadership practices was carried out in five Lithuanian organizations of the financial sector using the 360-degree feedback method; the size of the sample 493 respondents selected according to pre-defined criteria. Each questionnaire was filled in by the following respondents: 102

103 ISSN (Print), ISSN (Online). Regional Formation and Development Studies, No. 1 (21) A Manager (Self) filled in the questionnaire about himself/herself; they were top or mid-level managers. An observer answered the questions about the manager. Observers were as follows: Director of the Manager (to whom the Manager reports); Direct Report (i.e., direct subordinate); Peer (i.e., a manager of another department, branch, or etc.); Co-worker (i.e., an employee, who is not a direct report of the Manager and is not a peer). The research was performed in 5 organizations of financial sector in Lithuania: 3 banks and 2 insurance companies. The number of collected questionnaires (filled by Observers) about one Manager varies from 13 to 17. The research examines the following issue: intensifying competition and business globalisation, along with changes in both external and internal environment, hamper adequate identification of a link between managerial competencies and leadership in organisations, i.e., usually there are employed top-down (or just bottom-up ) assessments, which are based on a hierarchical structure and rely on a single source.. Development of New Leadership on all levels of the organisational structure requires a multi-faceted approach covering the feedback received from managers (i.e., top managers and middle-level managers), their subordinates and other employees of an organisation. A 360-degree top-down (i.e., leadership perceived by the leader himself) and bottom-up (i.e., leadership perceived by the followers) assessment may help to identify the reciprocity of relationships between the leader and his followers, to receive related feedback, highlight general organisational and individual approaches and contribute to New Leadership in the organisation. A scheme of the research structure was implemented through five research steps: Step 1. Conception of the research model. On this stage, clusters and constructs of leadership practices and managerial competencies have been identified, describing content of the constructs. Then relationships of these clusters and constructs have been substantiated, and the final version of the research model has been developed. Step 2. Development of an assessment tool for the interaction of managerial competencies and leadership practices. First, using a competency assessment tool, namely, MCP (Managerial Competency Portfolio 360 Assessment), managerial competency assessment scales were identified followed by reliability calculations and an exploratory factor analysis. Next, for assessing leadership practices a Leadership Practices Inventory (LPI: Leadership Practices Inventory Self; LPI: Leadership Practices Inventory Observer; LPI: Leadership Practices Inventory Workbook (Kouzes, Posner 2013)) was employed. The research model (Figure 1) distinguishes the four managerial competency clusters, each of which consists of several constructs. Providing a detailed overview of social intelligence competencies, the social intelligence scale distinguishes five competencies: orientation to results; imitativeness; problem solving; influencing others; fostering teamwork. Moreover, emotional intelligence and cognitive intelligence scales maintain the same number of constructs, i.e., the cognitive intelligence scale distinguishes three competencies (developing others, holding people accountable, team leadership), and the emotional intelligence scale also distinguishes three competencies (empathy, self-control, self-confidence). In total, eleven managerial competencies were evaluated. Competencies within a cluster and a construct are related to and complement each other. Seeking to assess leadership practices, the following five constructs were employed: modelling the way; inspiring a shared vision; challenging the process; enabling others to act; encouraging the heart. 103

104 Rasa Paulienė INTERACTION BETWEEN MANAGERIAL COMPETENCIES AND LEADERSHIP IN BUSINESS ORGANISATIONS Figure 1. Research model of the interaction of managerial competencies and leadership practices Source: compiled by the author based on Hay Group (2013), Kouzes, Posner (2013) Step 3. Pilot study. The third step was a pilot study, which tested the structure of the questionnaire about managerial competencies and leadership practices. In applying the questionnaires, there was made a translation from English to Lithuanian and from Lithuanian to English. In this way, it was checked whether an adequate equivalent for the English statement had been found. Step 4. Survey method. In the research, a quantitative analysis was chosen where scientific value is determined by quantitative indicators. As the research tool was chosen in advance, therefore, the quantitative analysis is structured and well-planned. Step 5. Analysis of the research data, drawing up the conclusions. The research data was analysed using the statistical package for the social sciences (IBM SPSS). 5. Findings The analysis of the quantitative study findings is based on the quantitative analysis data, however, in attempting to explain or understand some phenomena and exceptions more attention sometimes was paid to the context and discovering of links than to statistical analysis. 1. The managerial competency self-management and empathy has a positive impact on all New Leadership practices encountered in the analysed organisations. A significant link between assessment of the managerial competency self-management and empathy and assessment of all aspects of leadership practices in both respondent groups, namely, the Managers (Self ratings) and Observers ratings, has been established. 2. It has been found that the Managers (Self ratings) and Observers ratings are discriminated most clearly by the managerial competency problem solving, which indicates that Managers themselves and Observers perceive the managerial competency problem solving in different ways, and it is this aspect that determines whether a respondent participating in the research is a Manager or an Observer. 3. In the analysed organisations all managerial competencies were assessed more favourably by Observers, while Managers perceive their competencies much more reserved. 4. Examining traces of New Leadership in organisations, assessment of the interaction of managerial competencies and leadership practices reveals that enhanced assessment of managerial competencies 104

105 ISSN (Print), ISSN (Online). Regional Formation and Development Studies, No. 1 (21) leads to the enhanced assessment of leadership practices in the both respondent groups, namely, Managers and Observers. 5. Assessing the impact of managerial competencies on different dimensions of leadership practices, regression analysis has revealed that, according to the opinion of Managers (selves) and Observers: the leadership practice of setting direction, setting example for others is affected most by the managerial competencies problem solving and self-management and empathy; the leadership practices demonstrating attention and respect and empowerment and promoting a vision, accepting challenges are affected most by the managerial competencies self-management and empathy and emotional self-control; the leadership practice of fostering teamwork, involving team members is affected most by the managerial competency self-management and empathy; belief in leadership philosophy is affected most by the managerial competencies self-management and empathy and fostering talents. 6. Within a framework of the empirical study, it was carried out a comparison of the impact of managerial competencies on leadership practices in two groups (Managers and Observers); there were established the respondent groups where managerial competencies were treated unequally, moreover, the mean differences of the managerial competencies assessments were also evaluated. Comparing the assessment of managerial competencies in social groups and the assessment of leadership practices in different managerial level groups, it appeared that the means differ significantly: lower managerial competency assessment predetermines lower leadership practices assessment, whereas higher managerial competency assessment predetermines higher leadership practices assessment. 7. A discriminant analysis has established the factors which have the greatest impact in discriminating between Managers (Selves) and Observers, since Managers (themselves) and Observers view certain competencies differently. The study has found that Managers and Observers are best discriminated by the managerial competency problem solving. This indicates that Managers (Selves) and Observers view the managerial competence problem solving in different ways, and mainly this aspect determines whether a respondent is a Manager or an Observer, as problem solving assessments by the Managers (themselves) and Observers differ most significantly. The developed model of assessment of the interaction between managerial competencies and leadership practices in organisations proves itself appropriate for the set goals, inasmuch as the 360-degree feedback method provides an exceptional opportunity for a Manager s self-assessment as well as understanding of congruence of the Manager s self-assessment and the Manager s assessment by others (i.e., Observers); thus, it is one of the essential aspects in developing New Leadership. Conclusions Seeking to achieve the aim and objectives of the research, a research model and methodology have been developed, with a comprehensive study carried out on the basis of the methodology. The interaction of a complete analysis of scientific literature and empirical research has allowed drawing up generalised conclusions that contribute to the existing scientific theories and empirical studies on the interaction of managerial competencies and leadership practices in the conception of relationship-based leadership theories and New Leadership. In light of growing awareness that the New Leadership development includes not only the development of individual leaders and their activities, researchers encourage to focus on examination of the context of leadership formation. The need for leadership development is an imperative in contemporary organisations, where changes create uncertainty and unpredictability, while complicated situations are complex and so numerous that it is difficult for one or several persons to identify and solve them. The increasing number of researchers argue that top-down leadership in contemporary organisations is dangerous, as it may pose a threat to the organisation in a long-term perspective. 105

106 Rasa Paulienė INTERACTION BETWEEN MANAGERIAL COMPETENCIES AND LEADERSHIP IN BUSINESS ORGANISATIONS The conception of New Leadership emphasises a two-way approach to the interaction of leaders and their followers, as reciprocity in relationships between a leader and his subordinates, as well as its quality, are very important for the expression of New Leadership in organisations and emerging leadership practices, and for leadership effectiveness. Unlike previous research studies, the causal direction in this case has been changed, in other words, leadership becomes a dependent variable, and the study itself becomes top-down (i.e., how leadership is perceived by the leader himself) and bottom-up (i.e., how leadership is perceived by the followers). The results of this study encourage further research with a focus on the New Leadership development and taking into account the significance and impact of all three domains, namely, the leader, the follower and their relationships, on leadership practices in organisations. The New Leadership development is based on cognitive, social and emotional competencies as well as behavioural skills. These skills, along with such traits of a manager as self-awareness, openness, self-confidence, creativity, as together with cognitive, social and emotional intelligence competencies serve as a basis for New Leadership. The empirical research pursued the aim to assess the strength of the link between constructs of managerial competencies and constructs of leadership practices that occur in the analysed Lithuanian financial sector organisations. The study assessed correlation links of the constructs in different groups of respondents, namely, Managers (themselves) and Observers, which has allowed to compare differences in their assessments and to identify differences of their opinions. The analysis emphasised only statistically significant relationships between managerial competencies and leadership practices. The competency study has found that Managers (according to Self responses) are characterised by the strongest expression of emotional and social intelligence competencies. In addition, the analysis has revealed that all managerial competencies are assessed more favourably by Observers, while Managers view their competencies much more moderately than their assessors. Discussion New Leadership development at all levels in an organisation requires a multi-faceted approach including the feedback received from managers (i.e., top managers and middle-level managers) and other members of an organisation. The 360-degree top-down (i.e., as leadership is perceived by the leader himself) and bottom-up (i.e., as leadership is perceived by his followers) assessment can help to identify the reciprocity of relationships between the leader and his followers and feedback, highlighting general organisational and individual approaches and contributing to opportunities of expression of New Leadership and its development in the organisation. The research conducted within the framework of the research aim pursued to determine the interaction of competencies of managers of various levels and leadership practices in organisations, as the significance of managerial competencies in the area of New Leadership has not been empirically revealed yet, and there hardly exist any reliable assessment tools. The interaction of managerial competencies and leadership practices in a given organisation is difficult to measure also due to the lack of a developed common construct of a successful organisation. No branch of science can define in detail all the processes related to leadership; hence the studies of new leadership as a phenomenon show the aspiration to combine the knowledge of sociology, psychology, philosophy and educational science and to develop new interdisciplinary approaches to leadership. References Amagoh, F. (2009). Leadership development and leadership effectiveness. Management Decision, Vol. 47, No. 6, p Boal, K. B., Hooijberg, R. (2001). Strategic leadership research: moving on. Leadership Quarterly, Vol. 11, p Boyatzis, R. E. (1982). The Competent Manager. New York, NY: Wiley. Boyatzis, R. E. (2007). Competencies in the 21st century. Journal of Management Development, Vol. 27, No

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108 Rasa Paulienė INTERACTION BETWEEN MANAGERIAL COMPETENCIES AND LEADERSHIP IN BUSINESS ORGANISATIONS VADOVŲ KOMPETENCIJŲ IR LYDERYSTĖS SĄVEIKA VERSLO ORGANIZACIJOSE Rasa Paulienė Vilniaus universitetas (Lietuva) Santrauka Pastaraisiais metais santykiais grindžiamų lyderystės teorijų plėtra ir moksliniai tyrimai įgavo pagreitį, todėl pateikiama vis naujų šių tyrimų rezultatų, apibendrinimų ir įžvalgų. Spartūs verslo aplinkos pokyčiai siejami su vadovų kompetencijų ugdymu ir lyderystės praktikų, taikomų organizacijose, tobulinimu. Šiame straipsnyje pabrėžiama, kad lyderystės plėtros poreikis yra imperatyvus šiuolaikinių organizacijų aplinkose, kuriose pokyčiai sukuria neapibrėžtumą ir nenuspėjamumą, o probleminės situacijos yra kompleksinės ir jų tiek daug, kad vienam ar keliems asmenims sudėtinga jas identifikuoti ir spręsti. Lyderystės plėtra grindžiama didėjančiu kolektyviniu organizacijos narių pajėgumu įsitraukti į lyderystės vaidmenis ir procesus, pabrėžiama lyderystės plėtros svarba visais organizacijos lygmenimis, nes lyderystė ne tik individualus, bet ir kompleksinis reiškinys, apimantis lyderio, socialinės ir organizacinės aplinkos interakcijas. Empirinio tyrimo rezultatai atskleidė, kad ilgalaikė lyderystės plėtros sėkmė priklauso nuo organizacijoje dirbančių įvairių lygių vadovų kognityviojo, socialinio ir emocinio intelekto kompetencijų ugdymo, lyderių ir kitų organizacijos narių abipusiškumo bei grįžtamojo ryšio. Įvairios kompetencijų ugdymo, mokymų programos, be techninių darbo įgūdžių lavinimo, turėtų ugdyti susivaldymo ir empatijos gebėjimus, tobulinti formavimo komandai ir tarpasmeninės interakcijos procesus. PAGRINDINIAI ŽODŽIAI: vadovų kompetencijos, lyderystės praktikos, modernioji lyderystė, 360 laipsnių tyrimas. JEL KLASIFIKACIJA: M12, M19 Gauta: Priimta: Pasirašyta spaudai:

109 ISSN (Print), ISSN (Online). Regional Formation and Development Studies, No. 1 (21) Darbuotojams priimtiniausias vadovavimo stilius organizacijoje Arnoldas Petrulis 1 Klaipėdos universitetas (Lietuva) ANOTACIJA Vykstantys pokyčiai valstybėje neišvengiamai paveikia ir vadovavimą organizacijose. Straipsnyje aptariami organizacijoje taikomi vadovavimo stiliai. Remiantis mokslinės literatūros autoriais, pateikiamos vadovavimo stilių sampratos, apibūdinami charizmatinio, transakcinio, transformacinio ir tarnaujančiojo vadovo požymiai, juos priskiriant šiuolaikinėms vadovavimo teorijoms, sudaryta ir pateikta vadovavimo stilių krypties schema. Vertinant vadovavimo stilių bruožus, kai kurių teiginių pasirinkimui didelę reikšmę turėjo respondentų lyties požymis. Daroma išvada, kad, darbuotojų nuomone, priimtiniausias vadovavimo stilius organizacijoje yra transakcinio ir transformacinio vadovavimo stilių derinys, nevengiant taikyti ir charizmatinio stiliaus. PAGRINDINIAI ŽODŽIAI: vadovas, vadovavimo stilius, požymiai. JEL KLASIFIKACIJA: M10, M12. DOI: Įvadas Mažėjant darbingo amžiaus gyventojų skaičiui, organizacijos turi prisitaikyti prie didėjančios konkurencijos dėl darbuotojų. Todėl į vadovavimą žvelgiama vis kritiškiau, kalbama apie pokyčių būtinybę (Shalit, Popper, Zakay, 2010: 458). Be to, vadovavime taikomi netinkami metodai, kuriuos būtina keisti (Mauri, 2017: 1). Daugelio organizacijų įsisenėjusios bėdos per didelis valdymas (akyla stebėsena ir kontrolė) ir priklausomumas nuo valdžios, tiesioginis vadovo įsikišimas ir per didelis vadovavimo galios naudojimas. Todėl vis daugiau dėmesio kreipiama į vadovus, jų vadovavimo tobulinimą. Pritraukti naujus darbuotojus ar išlaikyti jau esamus gali padėti pasirinktas vadovavimo stilius. Vadovavimo stiliai gali turėti įtakos organizacijai ir organizacinei kultūrai, jų veiklos modeliams, siekiant paskatinti darbuotojus bendradarbiauti ar konkuruoti, naudojant atvirus ar išskirtinius bendravimo tarp darbuotojų kanalus, plėtojant profesinį tapatumą, sukuriant visaverčio darbo sąlygas ir puoselėjant organizacijos vertybes (Fazzi, Zamaro, 2016: 861). Problema. Keičiantis šalies išsivystymo lygiui, kuriasi naujos organizacijos, kinta vadovavimo stiliai, jų pasirinkimo problema tampa vis aktualesnė. Tyrimais nustatomi požymiai (Gabrielsson, Darling, Seristö, 2009: 237), lemiantys vadovavimo sėkmę, vis dėlto nesugebėjimas prisitaikyti prie darbuotojų, taikant tam tikrus vadovavimo stilius, yra didelė nesėkmė, nes nėra sąveikos tarp vadovavimo ir sprendimų priėmimo. Vadovavimo stilius gali turėti teigiamų ir neigiamų bruožų, kurie vienaip ar kitaip atsiskleidžia vadovo asmenyje, tai priklauso nuo jo asmeninių gebėjimų. 1 Arnoldas Petrulis vadybos krypties doktorantas, Klaipėdos universiteto Socialinių mokslų fakulteto Vadybos katedra Moksliniai interesai: organizacijų valdymas, vadovavimo stiliai, vadovavimo etika Adresas: Minijos g. 155, LT Klaipėda El. paštas: arnoldas.petrulis@gmail.com Tel

110 Arnoldas Petrulis Darbuotojams priimtiniausias vadovavimo stilius organizacijoje Straipsnio tikslas: atsižvelgti į darbuotojų nuomonę, nustatant priimtiniausią vadovavimo stilių. Tyrimo objektas: darbuotojams palankiausias vadovavimo stilius organizacijoje. Tyrimo metodai: remiantis mokslininkų įžvalgomis, taikant mokslinės literatūros analizės ir sintezės metodus, aptarus vadovavimo stilių svarbą ir sampratas, apibūdinti vadovavimo stilius, anketinės apklausos būdu ištirti darbuotojų nuomones apie priimtiniausią vadovavimo stilių organizacijoje. 1. Vadovavimo stilių svarba ir sampratos Daugėja tyrimų, kurie susiję su vadovavimu darbuotojams, siekiant atskleisti vadovavimo požymius (Shalit, Popper, Zakay, 2010: 458). Vadovavimas yra gyvybiškai svarbus (Nagendra, Farooqui, 2016: 65) kiekvienai organizacijai ir šios svarbos nereikėtų nuvertinti. Todėl atliekant vadovavimo tyrimus, vadovavimo stilius tapo svarbia tema. Daugelis mokslininkų pripažįsta, kad vadovavimo stilius daro didelę įtaką organizacijos darbuotojų veiklai, siekiant numatyti jų darbo našumą (Yahaya, Ebrahim, 2016: 190). Nors tyrėjai nustatė tiesioginį ryšį tarp vadovavimo stiliaus ir vadovavimo veiksmingumo, veiksmingumo ir kuriamos gerovės, vis dėlto vadovavimas ir jo stiliai yra neišsenkantys mokslinių tyrimų šaltiniai (Sudha, Shahnawaz, Farhat, 2016: 112). Mokslininkai nuolat ieško geriausių, išskirtinių vadovavimo savybių arba veiksmingiausio vadovavimo stiliaus (Berg, Karlsen, 2016: 1123). Vieni tyrimai nustatė sąsajas tarp vadovavimo stilių ir darbo našumo skirtinguose lygiuose (individualus, grupinis ir organizacijos) bei santykinius vadovavimo būdus, atsižvelgiant į aplinkybes (Sarti, 2014: 205). Kiti tyrimai patvirtino teigiamą vadovavimo stilių ryšį su pasitenkinimu ir darbo našumu, jei vadovai pasižymi gerus vadovo ir darbuotojų tarpusavio santykius puoselėjančia elgsena (Chen, Silverthone, 2005: 282). 1 lentelėje pateikiame mokslininkų vadovavimo stilių sampratas. Kaip teigia A. J. Karim (2016: 365), vadovavimo stilius lemia sėkmę, nepaisant įdėtų pastangų, ypač kai reikia skubiai veikti. 1 lentelė. Vadovavimo stilių samprata Autoriai Sampratos Ch. S. Lam, E. R. E. OʼHiggins (2012: 149) Vertinant vadovavimo stilių ypač svarbūs vadovavimo požymiai T. Cooper (2016: 95) Vadovavimo stilius gali būti apibūdinamas kaip asmens bruožų, įgūdžių ir elgsenos derinys A. B. Bhat ir kiti (2012: 348) Vadovavimo stilius suvokiamas kaip veikla, kai vadovas siekia paveikti darbuotojų elgseną, priima sprendimus, kurie orientuoti į tikslą ar į darbuotojus, ir išlaiko pusiausvyrą tarp siekiamo tikslo bei dėmesio darbuotojams K. S. Sudha, M. G. Shahnawaz, Vadovavimo stilius yra svarbiausias veiksmingumą lemiantis veiksnys A. Farhat (2016: 113) A. Nagendra, S. Farooqui (2016: 65) Vadovavimo stilius suvokiamas kaip bruožų, savybių, gebėjimų ir elgesio derinys, kurį vadovas taiko bendraudamas su savo darbuotojais Šaltinis: sudaryta darbo autoriaus. Remdamiesi 1 lentelėje išskirtais požymiais, suformulavome vadovavimo stiliaus apibrėžimą: vadovavimo stilius tai veikla, kur ypač svarbus asmens bruožų, savybių, gebėjimų ir elgsenos, kuriais daroma įtaka darbuotojams, derinys, kad priimami sprendimai užtikrintų tikslų įgyvendinimą. Vadovavimo stilius lemia keturi veiksniai (Tuuli ir kiti, 2012: 153): 1) vadovo vertybių sistema; 2) pasitikėjimas darbuotojais; 3) polinkis vadovauti ir 4) savisaugos jausmas neaiškiomis aplinkybėmis. Šiuolaikinėse vadovavimo teorijose pateikiami modernūs vadovavimo stiliai (Nagendra, Farooqui, 2016: 65): charizmatinis, transakcinis, transformacinis. Juos dar papildysime tarnaujančiuoju. 110

111 ISSN (Print), ISSN (Online). Regional Formation and Development Studies, No. 1 (21) 2. Vadovavimo stiliai Charizmatinis (patrauklus, žavingas) vadovavimas. Vadovai, įvaldę charizmatinį stilių (Paulsen ir kiti, 2009: 513), tampa įkvėpimu (pavyzdžiu) kitiems, nes pasitiki savimi, įtikinamai geba perteikti viziją, tiki tuo, ką daro siekdami tikslo. Kaip teigia A. J. Karim (2016: 365), charizmatinis vadovavimo stilius lemia sėkmę, nepaisant įdėtų pastangų, ypač veiksmingai pasireiškia aplinkybėmis, kai reikia skubiai veikti. Charizmatiški vadovai rodo elgsenos pavyzdį (Shao ir kt., 2016: 529), žavėdami darbuotojus. Kita vertus charizmos poveikis gali būti ir griaunamojo pobūdžio (Karim, 2016: 365), kai vadovai manipuliuoja (siekdami slapta išnaudoti kitus), taiko represijas (nežabotas vadovavimo galių naudojimas) arba save išaukština. St. P. Robbins (2010: 77 78) tvirtina, kad žmonės gali išmokti charizmatinio elgesio ir naudotis charizmatiniam vadovui tenkančiomis privilegijomis. Transakcinis vadovavimas (mainai). Pateikiame tris transakcinio vadovavimo veiksnius (Rohmann, Rowold, 2009: 546; Fazzi, Zamaro, 2016: 862): 1) santykinis atlygis rodo vadovo gebėjimą nustatyti tikslus (ko tikimasi iš darbuotojo) ir galimą naudą darbuotojui (ką gaus mainais už atliktą darbą); 2) vadovavimas išskirtiniais atvejais (aktyvus ir pasyvus), atsižvelgiant į susiklosčiusias aplinkybes, darbuotojams neteisingai atlikus arba iš viso neatlikus užduoties (aktyvus nuolatinis stebėjimas (kontrolė), kad viskas būtų laiku ir tinkamai atlikta; pasyvus reaguojama tik jau į įvykusį faktą, kai kažkas nepadaryta ar blogai padaryta; 3) nesikišimo (angl. laissez-faire) tai vadovavimo nebuvimas, kai priimant sprendimus vengiama prisiimti atsakomybę už pasekmes. Transakcinis vadovavimo stilius pasireiškia vadovo ir darbuotojo tarpusavio santykiuose (Strom, Sears, Kelly, 2014: 72), kur kiekviena šalis siekia patenkinti savo poreikius, nes aiškiai apibrėžti darbuotojų atsakomybė ir vadovo lūkesčiai. Tai išreikšta per pripažinimą ir įvertinimą (apdovanojimą) už konkrečius darbuotojų pasiekimus (Holten, Brenner, 2015: 4). Transkacinis vadovavimo stilius daugiau dėmesio skiria techniniams problemų sprendimams, nepaisant darbuotojų (Covin ir kt., 1997: 24). Šis vadovavimo tipas gali būti priimtinas organizacijos veikloje (nors nėra geriausias) tuo metu, kai nėra jokių ryškių pokyčių (sukrėtimų, krizių) ir tenkinamasi nedideliu organizacijos augimu (Neumann, Neumann, 1999: 73). Transformacinis (pokyčių) vadovavimas. Šie keturi požymiai pasireiškia transformacinio vadovo veiksmuose (Strom, Sears, Kelly, 2014: 73; Berg, Karlsen, 2016: 1124; Fazzi, Zamaro, 2016: 862): 1) idealizuota įtaka, kai vadovas veikia kaip sektinas pavyzdys, su kuriuo tapatinasi darbuotojai; 2) įkvepiantis skatinimas, kai vadovas bendraudamas drąsina, įkvepia ir skatina įsipareigoti; 3) skatinimas mąstyti, kai vadovas diegia naujoves ir skatina darbuotojų kūrybiškumą; 4) asmeninis dėmesys, kai vadovas rūpinasi darbuotojų poreikiais. Transformaciniai vadovai paprastai tampa sektinu pavyzdžiu (Men, Stacks, 2013: 174; Hoten, Brenner, 2015: 3 4), sukuria bendros ateities pojūtį, kelia sekėjų (darbuotojų) pasididžiavimą ir pasitikėjimą, įkvepiančiu vadovavimo stiliumi jiems suteikia daugiau įgaliojimų veikti, skatina juos permąstyti savo nusistovėjusias veiklas ir mąstymo nuostatas, kreipia asmeninį dėmesį į darbuotoją, siekdamas sužinoti kiekvieno poreikius. Transformacinis vadovavimo stilius laikomas reikšminga vadovų ypatybe (vertybe), kuri gali lemti organizacijos sėkmę (Lam, OʼHiggins, 2012: 150). Transformacinis vadovavimas apima (Men, Stacks, 2013: 174): empatiją, supratingumą, savitarpio santykių kūrimą, naujoves, darbuotojų pasitikėjimą ir skatinimą asmeniškai tobulėti. Tyrimais nustatyta, kad transformacinis vadovavimas teigiamai veikia darbo našumą ir darbuotojų pasitenkinimą (Covin ir kiti,1997: 24). Be to, transakcinis vadovavimo stilius (Paulsen ir kiti, 2009: 512) teigiamai veikia, kūrybiškumą, komandinę veiklą, skatina diegti naujoves, lemia įgyvendinamų darbų sėkmę. Transformaciniai vadovai gali paskatinti savo darbuotojus daryti daugiau, nei iš jų tikėtasi (Lam, OʼHiggins, 2012: 149), keisti savo asmenines vertybes ir savivoką aukštesnio lygio poreikiais ir siekiais (Cheung, Wong, 2011: 659). Nors transakcinis ir transformacinis vadovavimo stiliai akivaizdžiai skiriasi (Busic, Robinson, Ramburuth, 2010: 232), iš tikrųjų transformacinis vadovavimas yra transakcinio vadovavimo tęsinys. Pripažįstama, kad kartais, atsižvelgiant į susiklosčiusias aplinkybes, transakcinis ir transformacinis vadovavimo stiliai gali sudaryti priimtiną vadovavimo stilių derinį (Cooper, 2016: 96). Teigiama ir tai, kad charizma suvokiama 111

112 Arnoldas Petrulis Darbuotojams priimtiniausias vadovavimo stilius organizacijoje (Paulsen ir kiti, 2009: 512) kaip svarbi transformacinio vadovavimo stiliaus dalis, kuri turi įtakos sėkmingam komandiniam darbui. Tarnaujančiajam vadovavimui (angl. servant) būdingas negriežtas vadovavimas darbuotojams (Winston, Fields, 2015: 414), tai gali pasireikšti kaip vadovo globa, užsiimant darbuotojų mokymu ar netiesiogiai teikiant paramą, rūpinimasis, etiška ir skaidri veikla. Tarnaujantysis vadovavimas pasižymi tuo, kad ne tik vadovas veikia darbuotojų elgseną, bet ir darbuotojai, teikdami grįžtamąjį ryšį, daro įtaką vadovo elgsenai (Winston, Fields, 2015: 415). Tarnaujantieji vadovai ugdo savo darbuotojus, kartu ugdosi ir patys (Gutierrez-Wirsching ir kiti, 2015: 1235). Toks vadovavimas (Gotsis, Grimani, 2016: 990), apimantis tiek patį vadovą, tiek darbuotojus, susijęs su etika, dorove, vertybėmis. Vadovai, kuriems būdingas tarnaujantysis vadovavimo stilius, pasižymi teigiamu požiūriu į darbuotojus (Jit, Sharma, Kawatra, 2016: 594), o tokiomis savo savybėmis, kaip noras padėti, įtikinamas minčių perteikimas, kuklumas, globėjiškumas, rūpinimasis darbuotojų ugdymu, gebėjimas išklausyti, dalyvavimas priimant sprendimus, skatina bendruomeniškumo jausmą. Todėl tarnaujantysis vadovas (De sousa, Van Dierendonck, 2014: 880), būdamas dorovingesnis, lyginant su vadovais, kurie taiko kitus vadovavimo būdus, yra ypač dėmesingas (Chan, Mak, 2014: 273), domisi darbuotojų asmeniniais poreikiais, padeda nusistatyti tikslus, be to, padeda ugdymosi procese. Sh. K. Schneider, W. M. George (2011: 62) pateikia keturias pagrindines galimų transformacinio ir tarnaujančiojo vadovavimo stilių skirtumų kategorijas: 1) dorovinė pirmenybė; 2) ugdymas (darbuotojo); 3) dėmesys rezultatams; 4) vadovavimo stiliaus įtaka. 1 pav. Vadovavimo stiliaus kryptys Sudaryta: darbo autoriaus, remiantis: Covin ir kiti, 1997: 24; Chung ir kiti, 2011: 301; Schneider, George, 2011: 62 63; Chan, Wai-ming Mak, 2014: 273; Winston, Fields, 2015: 414; Cooper, 2016: 96; Bhat ir kiti, 2012: 349; Gutierrez-Wirsching ir kiti, 2015: 1235 Daugelio tyrimų išvadose teigiama, kad vadovavimo stilius pelno siekiančiose organizacijose turi būti veiksmingas (Adeyemi-Bello, 2001: 151). Todėl tyrimuose vadovavimo stiliai gali būti apibrėžiami kaip orientuoti į užduotį (tikslą) arba į santykius (darbuotoją) (Adeyemi-Bello, 2001: 150). Abu vadovavimo stiliai (Mikkelson, Sloan, Hesse, 2017:14) orientuoti į santykius ir į užduotį yra naudingi organizacijai ir jos darbuotojų profesiniam tobulėjimui. Nenuostabu, kad veiksmingiausias vadovavimo stilius yra abiejų vadovavimo stilių derinys. 1 paveiksle pateikiami vadovavimo stiliai pagal kryptis. Transakcinis vadovavimas labiau orientuotas į tikslą, tarnaujantysis į žmogų. Charizmatinio vadovavimo stiliaus vadovas mažiau orientuotas tiek į tikslą, tiek į žmogų, lyginant su transakcinio vadovavimo stiliaus vadovu. Moksliniai tyrimai atskleidžia (Yu, Miller, 2005: 38), kad vieno geriausio vadovavimo stiliaus nėra, sėkmingų vadovų teigimu, geriausia savo vadovavimo stilių pritaikyti darbuotojų poreikių tenkinimui, atsižvelgiant į susiklosčiusias aplinkybes. Organizacijoms gali būti priimtini skirtingi vadovavimo stiliai, tai priklauso nuo daugelio įvairių veiksnių (Fazzi, Zamaro, 2016: 861): vadovo asmeninių savybių, organizacijos tipo, dydžio ir darbuotojų sudėties (lyties, amžiaus, kt. požiūriu). Skirtingų vadovavimo stilių taikymas 112

113 ISSN (Print), ISSN (Online). Regional Formation and Development Studies, No. 1 (21) leidžia organizacijų vadovams suprasti save ir savo darbuotojus (Gabrielsson, Darling, Seristö, 2009: 238), skatina juos tobulėti, suvokti savo vertingumą organizacijai, taip sudarydami sąlygas pasiekti organizacinius tikslus ir uždavinius. Paprastai geriausi, veiksmingai dirbantys vadovai, atsižvelgdami į situaciją, taiko vieną ar kelis skirtingus vadovavimo stilius (Goleman, Boyatzis, McKee, 2007: 53). 3. Tyrimo metodas Remiantis I. Kraniauskiene (2006: 5), socialinių santykių dalyviai stebi, kas vyksta aplinkui, ir stengiasi visa tai suprasti. Jų pastebėjimams ir paaiškinimams įtaką daro subjektyvūs veiksniai stereotipai, įsitikinimai, kuriuos įgijo augdami, o ir pats stebėjimas nėra pastovus, labiau atsitiktinis. Tuo tarpu mokslinis tyrimas yra tikslingas, apmąstytas veiksmas, leidžiantis visapusiškai, nuosekliai ir pagrįstai formuluoti išvadas, kai tyrimo rezultatai analizuojami objektyviai ir nepriklauso nuo tyrėjo subjektyvaus požiūrio ir vertinimų. A. Shalit, M. Popper, D. Zakay (2010: 458) nuomone, būtent darbuotojai, o ne vadovas ar mokslininkai įvardija vadovavimo stilių. Straipsnio autoriaus pasirinktu tyrimo metodu anketine apklausa tiriama darbuotojų nuomonė apie organizacijai priimtiniausią vadovavimo stilių. Kadangi tyrėjui skiriamos lėšos yra ribotos (Kothari, 2004: 112), pasirinktas pigiausias metodas, kai duomenis renka pats tyrėjas. Imčių atranka ir tiriamoji visuma atsitiktinė, anketa platinama gavus sutikimą iš respondento. Klausimyną sudaro uždarieji klausimai (Kothari, 2004: 85), vertinama pagal Laikerto skalę (1 = visiškas nesutikimas, 5 = visiškas sutikimas), duomenys apdorojami SSPS 18 ir Microsoft Office Excel 2010 programomis. Tyrimas atliktas 2017 metų sausio mėnesį. Platinant anketą laikytasi etikos principų. Kiekvienas potencialus respondentas galėjo laisvai rinktis, ar dalyvauti tyrime. Duomenys naudojami tik apibendrinti, išsaugant respondentų anonimiškumą. Vadovavimo stilius charizmatinį, transakcinį, transformacinį ir tarnaujantįjį tiriame pagal šiuos bruožus: sprendimų priėmimo būdas, paliepimų (užduočių) pateikimas, atsakomybės pasidalijimas, požiūris į darbuotojus, santykių su darbuotojais pobūdis, požiūris į drausmę, vertybių ir vizijos pateikimas. 4. Tyrimo rezultatai Apklausti 54 respondentai. Patikimumui nustatyti dažniausia taikytas metodas Cronbacho alfa koeficiento skaičiavimas. Klausimyno Cronbacho alfa pateikta 2 lentelėje. 2 lentelė. Anketų suvestinės Cronbacho alfa Duomenų apdorojimo santrauka Patikimumo statistika Skale: Visi kintamieji Cronbacho alfa Klausimyno elementų imtis Imtis % Duomenys Įskaityti Iš viso ,0 0, Šaltinis: sudaryta darbo autoriaus, remiantis anketų suvestine Koeficiento reikšmės: iki 0,60 rodo žemą anketos homogeniškumą (atsakymų panašumą); nuo 0,60 iki 0,70 pakankamą; nuo 0,70 iki 0,90 aukštą. Anketų Cronbacho alfa koeficientas 0,691, tai yra pakankamas patikimumas. Tyrime dalyvavo 44,4 % vyrų, 55,6 % moterų, respondentai skirtingo amžiaus, daugiausia: m. (27,8 %), m. (66,7 %) ir m. (5,6 %) amžiaus grupių respondentai. Organizuojant tyrimą stengtasi parinkti respondentus iš visų organizacijos tipų pagal Lietuvos statistikos klasifikatorių. Duomenys pateikti 3 lentelėje. 113

114 Arnoldas Petrulis Darbuotojams priimtiniausias vadovavimo stilius organizacijoje 3 lentelė. Respondentų pasiskirstymas pagal organizacijų tipus Imtis % Žemės ūkis, miškininkystė ir žuvininkystė 3 5,6 Pramonė 12 22,2 Statyba 3 5,6 Prekyba 6 11,1 Viešasis administravimas 15 27,8 Švietimas 6 11,1 Kita 9 16,7 Iš viso: ,0 Šaltinis: sudaryta darbo autoriaus, remiantis anketų suvestine Atsižvelgiant į kapitalo kilmę, respondentai išsidėstė taip: Lietuvos kapitalo 72,2 %, užsienio kapitalo 11,1 %, Lietuvos ir užsienio kapitalo 16,7 %. 2 pav. Tiesioginio vadovo pasirinkto vadovavimo stiliaus priimtinumas Sudaryta: darbo autoriaus, remiantis anketų suvestine Apklausoje dalyvavusiems respondentams pateiktas klausimas: ar galėtumėte teigti, kad jūsų tiesioginio vadovo pasirinktas vadovavimo stilius jus tenkina? Gauti duomenys pateikti 2 paveiksle procentine išraiška. Kaip matome, daugelį respondentų labiau tenkina arba visiškai tenkina, nors didžiausią grupę sudaro respondentai, kurių nei tenkina, nei netenkina tiesioginio vadovo vadovavimo stilius. Analizuojant duomenis SSPS 18 programa, palyginti vidurkiai (Independent-Samples T Test) leido nustatyti, kad anketų suvestinių patikimumo lygmuo didesnis už statistiškai reikšmingą išraišką (p >0,05), t. y. respondentų lytis neturėjo įtakos atsakymams. Atlikti ir reikšmingumo palyginimai vienafaktorine dispersijos analize (One Way Anova), siekiant nustatyti pasitenkinimą tiesioginio vadovo pasirinktu vadovavimo stiliumi pagal šiuos požymius: respondentų amžius, organizacijos tipas. Suvestinėse patikimumo lygmuo buvo didesnis už statistiškai reikšmingą 0,05 (5 %) išraišką, t. y. šie požymiai neturėjo įtakos respondentų atsakymams. Nustatyta, kad atsakymo pasirinkimas priklausė nuo organizacijos tipo, jis ypač reikšmingas žemės ūkio, miškininkystės ir žuvininkystės bei statybos tipo organizacijose, nes patikimumo lygmuo buvo lygus 0,00. Galima daryti prielaidą, kad vadovo pasirenkamas vadovavimo stilius šiose organizacijose ypač svarbus. Respondentams pateikti dvidešimt aštuoni teiginiai, suskirstyti pagal vadovavimo stiliaus bruožus, kiekvienas jų priskirtas konkrečiam vadovavimo stiliui. Paprašyta juos įvertinti nuo 1 iki 5, kur 1 visiškai nesutinku, 5 visiškai sutinku. Aprašomosios statistikos (Descriptive Statistics) programa išvesti vidurkiai, mediana vidurinė duomenų aibės reikšmė, moda dažniausia pasikartojanti duomenų aibės reikšmė. 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 lentelėse pateikti gauti duomenys, suskirstyti pagal vadovavimo stiliaus bruožus. 114

115 ISSN (Print), ISSN (Online). Regional Formation and Development Studies, No. 1 (21) 4 lentelė. Sprendimų priėmimo būdas Vadovavimo stilius Teiginys Ats. Vid. Mediana Moda Suma Charizmatinis Vadovas visas problemas sprendžia pats 54 2, Transakcinis Vadovas nustato, ką darbuotojai turi padaryti 54 4, Transformacinis Sprendimai priimami kolegialiai (bendru sutarimu), darbuotojai skatinami dalyvauti juos priimant, jų sprendimo nebandoma paveikti Tarnaujantysis Darbuotojams suteikiami įgaliojimai veikti 54 2, Sudaryta: darbo autoriaus, remiantis anketų suvestine Vertinant vadovavimo stiliaus požymį sprendimo priėmimo būdas tik transakcinis vadovavimo stilius gavo daugiausiai palankių respondentų įvertinimų. 5 lentelė. Paliepimų (užduočių) pateikimas Vadovavimo stilius Teiginys Ats. Vid. Mediana Moda Suma Charizmatinis Vadovas įkvepia intuityviai jį sekti ir atlikti paskirtas užduotis 54 3, Transakcinis Vadovas įsakmiai nurodinėja, ką ir kaip reikia atlikti 54 2, Darbuotojai skatinami pakilti aukščiau asmeninių interesų, Transformacinis kad įgyvendintų organizacijos tikslus 54 3,44 3, Tarnaujantysis Darbuotojams skiriamos užduotys, netiesiogiai remiamas jų atlikimas 54 2, Sudaryta: darbo autoriaus, remiantis anketų suvestine Vertinant vadovavimo stiliaus požymį paliepimų (užduočių) pateikimas, charizmatinis ir transformacinis vadovavimo stiliai gavo daugiausia palankių respondentų įvertinimų. 6 lentelė. Atsakomybės pasidalijimas Vadovavimo stilius Teiginys Ats. Vid. Mediana Moda Suma Charizmatinis Vadovas visiškai pasitiki savimi ir prisiima asmeninę atsakomybę 54 3, Transakcinis Vadovas prisiima atsakomybę, bet esant blogiems rezultatams baudžia darbuotojus 54 3, Transformacinis Atsakomybė kolektyvinė arba deleguojama Tarnaujantysis Atsakomybė perduodama tam, kuris atlieka užduotį 54 3,61 3, Sudaryta: darbo autoriaus, remiantis anketų suvestine Vertinant vadovavimo stiliaus požymį atsakomybės pasidalijimas, charizmatinis ir tarnaujantysis vadovavimo stiliai gavo daugiausiai palankių respondentų įvertinimų. 7 lentelė. Požiūris į darbuotojus Vadovavimo stilius Teiginys Ats. Vid. Mediana Moda Suma Charizmatinis Dažniausia priklauso nuo vadovo nusiteikimo kitų asmenų atžvilgiu 54 2, Transakcinis Vadovas nesirūpina darbuotojų asmeniniu tobulėjimu 54 2,61 2, Vadovas padeda nustatyti darbuotojų talentus, stengiasi Transformacinis juos panaudoti 54 3, Tarnaujantysis Vadovas užsiima mokymu, ugdymu teikia patarimus 54 2, Sudaryta: darbo autoriaus, remiantis anketų suvestine 115

116 Arnoldas Petrulis Darbuotojams priimtiniausias vadovavimo stilius organizacijoje Vertinant vadovavimo stiliaus požymį požiūris į darbuotojus, tik transformacinis vadovavimo stilius gavo daugiausia palankių respondentų įvertinimų. 8 lentelė. Santykių su darbuotojais pobūdis Vadovavimo stilius Teiginys Ats. Vid. Mediana Moda Suma Charizmatinis Vadovas daro tiesioginę įtaką darbuotojo sprendimams 54 3, Transakcinis Naudingas bendravimas nukreiptas į atlygį 54 3, Transformacinis Vadovas nepriekabus, bendradarbiaujantis 54 3, Tarnaujantysis Pagrįstas pasitikėjimu ir nuolatiniu dėmesiu darbuotojams 54 3, Sudaryta: darbo autoriaus, remiantis anketų suvestine Vertinant vadovavimo stiliaus požymį santykių su darbuotojais pobūdis, transakcinis ir transformacinis vadovavimo stiliai gavo daugiausiai palankių respondentų įvertinimų. 9 lentelė. Požiūris į drausmę Vadovavimo stilius Teiginys Ats. Vid. Mediana Moda Suma Charizmatinis Nuolankumas vadovui 54 3, Transakcinis Vadovas reiklus reglamentuotai (nustatytai) drausmei 54 3, Transformacinis Vadovas reikalauja sąmoningai save drausminti 54 3, Tarnaujantysis Vadovas nekreipia dėmesio į smulkius drausmės pažeidimus 54 3, Sudaryta: darbo autoriaus, remiantis anketų suvestine Vertinant vadovavimo stiliaus požymį požiūris į drausmę, transakcinis ir transformacinis vadovavimo stiliai gavo daugiausia palankių respondentų įvertinimų. 10 lentelė. Vertybių ir vizijos pateikimas Vadovavimo stilius Teiginys Ats. Vid. Mediana Moda Suma Charizmatinis Vizijos ir vertybių perdavimas, siekiant įkvėpti, sužavėti 54 2, Transakcinis Skatinant pirmiausia per santykinius atlyginimu pagrįstus mainus 54 3, Transformacinis Skatinant darbuotojus priimti sprendimus ir juos įgyvendinti (siekti tikslo) 54 3,44 3, Tarnaujantysis Dvasingumas, skatinantis etišką elgseną 54 2, Sudaryta: darbo autoriaus, remiantis anketų suvestine Vertinant vadovavimo stiliaus požymį vertybių ir vizijos pateikimas, tik transformacinis vadovavimo stilius gavo daugiausia palankių respondentų įvertinimų. Įvertinus gautus atsakymus nustatyta, kad kai kuriems teiginiams įtakos turėjo lytis, nes patikimumo lygmuo (sigma) statistikai reikšmingas (nereikšminga, kai p > 0,05). Teiginio vadovas visas problemas sprendžia pats anketų suvestinių išraiška vyrams p = 0,001, moterims p = 0,003. Darytina išvada, kad tiek vyrai, tiek moterys su šiuo teiginiu vienodai nesutinka. Teiginio: vadovas nesirūpina darbuotojų asmeniniu tobulėjimu, vyrų ir moterų p = 0,001. Darytina išvada, kad abiejų lyčių respondentai vienodai nesutinka arba nei sutinka, nei nesutinka su šiuo teiginiu. Teiginio sprendimai priimami kolegialiai (bendru sutarimu), darbuotojai skatinami dalyvauti juos priimant, nedarant įtakos jų sprendimui, vyrų p = 0,013, moterų p = 0,015. Teiginio darbuotojams suteikiami įgaliojimai veikti vyrų p = 0,011, moterų p = 0,013. Teiginio atsakomybė kolektyvinė arba deleguojama vyrų ir moterų p = 0. Teiginio dažniausia priklausytų nuo vadovo nusiteikimo kitų asmenų atžvilgiu vyrų 116

117 ISSN (Print), ISSN (Online). Regional Formation and Development Studies, No. 1 (21) p = 0,019, moterų p = 0,017. Teiginio naudingas bendravimas nukreiptas į atlygį vyrų p = 0,01, moterų p = 0,008. Teiginio pagrįstas pasitikėjimu ir nuolatiniu dėmesiu darbuotojams vyrų p = 0,002, moterų p = 0,003. Teiginio vadovas nekreipia dėmesio į smulkius drausmės pažeidimus, vyrų p = 0,026, moterų p = 0,024. Darytina išvada, kad respondentai vienodai nei sutinka, nei nesutinka su šiais teiginiais. Teiginio atsakomybė perduodama tam, kuris atlieka užduotį, vyrų p = 0,033, moterų p = 0,03. Teiginio vadovas nepriekabus, bendradarbiaujantis vyrų p = 0,014, moterų p = 0,011. Darytina išvada, kad respondentai dažniau renkasi atsakymus nei sutinku, nei nesutinku ir sutinku. Teiginio vadovas visiškai pasitiki savimi ir prisiima asmeninę atsakomybę, vyrų ir moterų p = 0,016. Teiginio skatinant darbuotojus priimti sprendimus ir juos įgyvendinti (siekti tikslo) vyrų p = 0,025, moterų p = 0,02. Darytina išvada, kad su šiuo teiginiu tiek vyrai, tiek moterys vienodai sutinka. 3 paveiksle pateikta bendra vadovavimo stilių suvestinė pagal vidurkius. 3 pav. Priimtiniausias vadovavimo stilius organizacijoje Sudaryta: darbo autoriaus, remiantis anketų suvestine Duomenys patvirtina mokslinės literatūros teiginius, kad transformacinis stilius yra (gali būti) transakcinio stiliaus tęsinys. Be to, mokslininkai teigia, kad charizma yra svarbi transakcinio vadovavimo dalis, tačiau mūsų duomenys atskleidė, kad ji tegali būti papildoma šio stiliaus dalis (veiksnys) (žr. 4 pav.). 4 pav. Priimtiniausias vadovavimo stilius organizacijoje Sudaryta: darbo autoriaus, remiantis anketų suvestine Apibendrindami galime teigti, kad organizacijų darbuotojai gana gerai vertina savo vadovų pasirinktą vadovavimo stilių, nors dar yra kur tobulėti. Priimtiniausias vadovavimo stilius organizacijoje būtų transakcinio ir transformacinio vadovavimo stilių derinys, nevengiant išnaudoti ir charizmatinio stiliaus privalumų. Išvados Pateikiant vadovavimo stilių sampratas nustatyta, kad daugėja vadovavimo organizacijai tyrimų, bandant atskleisti vadovavimo požymius. Tiriant vadovavimą, vadovavimo stilius tapo svarbia tema, daugelis mokslininkų pripažįsta, kad vadovavimo stilius ypač svarbus, siekiant paveikti organizacijos narių veiklą, jų darbo 117

118 Arnoldas Petrulis Darbuotojams priimtiniausias vadovavimo stilius organizacijoje našumą. Nors tyrėjai nustatė tiesioginį vadovavimo stiliaus ir vadovavimo veiksmingumo, veiksmingumo ir kuriamos gerovės ryšį, vis dėlto vadovavimas ir vadovavimo stiliai yra neišsenkantys mokslinių tyrimų šaltiniai. Pateikdami vadovavimo stilių sampratas mokslininkai skiria šiuos požymius: asmens bruožai, įgūdžiai, elgsena, poveikis, sprendimai, pusiausvyra, įtaka. Šiuolaikinėse vadovavimo teorijose pateikiami šie vadovavimo stiliai: charizmatinis, transakcinis, transformacinis, tarnaujantysis. Charizmatinis (patrauklus, žavingas) vadovavimas įkvepia kitus (pavyzdžiu) tvirtu pasitikėjimu savimi, įtikinamu vizijos perteikimu, pasitikėjimu tuo, ką daro, siekdamas tikslo. Šio stiliaus vadovo bruožai: žavesys, gebėjimas įkvėpti, daryti įtaką, pateikti viziją, puoselėti santykius, prisiimti asmeninę riziką, pasitikėjimas savimi, išskirtinis elgesys. Transakcinį vadovavimą (mainai) lemia trys veiksniai: santykinis atlygis, vadovavimas išskirtiniais atvejais (aktyvus ir pasyvus) ir vadovavimo nebuvimas. Šio stiliaus vadovo bruožas labiau savavaldis (apdovanojimų darbuotojams teikimas savo nuožiūra, veiklos stebėsena, darbuotojų neskatinimas, nepasitikėjimas jais, nerašytų taisyklių kūrimas, paliepimų teikimas). Transformacinio (pokyčių) vadovo veiksmams būdinga: idealizuotos nuomonės apie save kūrimas, įkvepiantis skatinimas, skatinimas mąstyti, asmeninis dėmesys. Šio stiliaus požymiai: gebėjimas daryti įtaką, skatinti, įkvėpti, ugdyti, remti, perteikti viziją, darbuotojų pasitenkinimo savo veikla atmosferos kūrimas, pasitikėjimas savimi, rūpestingumas. Tarnaujantysis (angl. servant) vadovavimas pasižymi negriežtu vadovavimu darbuotojams (tai gali pasireikšti tiesiogiai kaip vadovo globa, užsiimant darbuotojų mokymu, ar netiesiogiai teikiant paramą, rūpinantis, taip pat kaip etiška ir skaidri veikla). Šio vadovavimo stiliaus požymiai: pataria, ugdo, remia, rūpinasi, nesavanaudiškas, kuklus, turi santykinę galią, bendruomeniškas, supratingas, geba įtikinti, pasitelkęs įrodymus. Nustatyta, kad transakcinis vadovavimas labiau orientuotas į tikslą, o tarnaujantysis į žmogų. Tuo tarpu charizmatinis vadovas mažiau orientuotas tiek į tikslą, tiek į žmogų, lyginant su transakcinio vadovavimo stiliaus vadovu. Atliktas tyrimas patvirtino vadybos literatūroje pateiktas mintis, kad nėra vieno geriausio vadovavimo stiliaus. Sėkmingi vadovai tvirtina, kad geriausiai pritaikyti savo vadovavimo stilių darbuotojų poreikių tenkinimui, atsižvelgiant į susiklosčiusias aplinkybes. Apklausoje dalyvavusių respondentų klausta, ar galėtumėte teigti, kad jūsų tiesioginio vadovo pasirinktas vadovavimo stilius jus tenkina? Atsakymai rodo, kad daugelį respondentų tenkina (18,5 %) arba visiškai tenkina (25,9 %), nors didžiausią grupę sudaro respondentai, kurių nei tenkina, nei netenkina tiesioginio vadovo vadovavimo stilius (33,3 %). Pagal stiliaus bruožus respondentai taip įvertino palankumą vadovavimo stiliams: sprendimų priėmimo būdas transakcinis; paliepimų (užduočių) pateikimas charizmatinio ir transakcinio derinys; atsakomybės pasidalijimas charizmatinio ir tarnaujančiojo derinys; požiūris į darbuotojus transformacinis; santykių su darbuotojais pobūdis transakcinio ir transformacinio derinys; požiūris į drausmę transakcinio ir transformacinio derinys; vertybių ir vizijos pateikimas transformacinis. Darytina išvada, kad, darbuotojų nuomone, priimtiniausias vadovavimo stilius organizacijoje transakcinio ir transformacinio vadovavimo stiliaus derinys, nevengiant ir charizmatinio stiliaus. Literatūra Adeyemi-Bello, T. (2001). The impact of leadership style on organizational growth. Work Study, Vol. 50, Issue 4, p Berg, M. E., Karlsen, J. T. (2016). A study of coaching leadership style practice in projects. Management Research Review, Vol. 39, Issue 9, p Bhat, A. B., Verma, N., Rangnekar, S., Barua, M. K. (2012). Leadership style and team processes as predictors of organisational Learning. Team Performance Management: An International Journal. Vol. 18, Issue 7/8, p Busic, T., Robinson, L., Ramburuth, P. (2010). Effects of leadership style on team Learning. Journal of Workplace Learning. Vol. 22, Issue 4, p Chan, S. C. H., Mak, Wai-ming. (2014). The impact of servant leadership and subordinates organizational tenure on trust in leader and Attitudes. Personnel Review, Vol. 43, Issue 2, p Chen, Jui-Ch., Silverthorne, C. (2005). Leadership effectiveness, leadership style and employee readiness. Leadership & Organization Development Journal, Vol. 26, Issue 4, p

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120 Arnoldas Petrulis Darbuotojams priimtiniausias vadovavimo stilius organizacijoje Schneider, Sh. K., George, W. M. (2011). Servant leadership versus transformational leadership in voluntary service organizations. Leadership & Organization Development Journal, Vol. 32, Issue 1, p Shalit, A., Popper, M., Zakay, D. (2010). Followers attachment styles and their preference for social or for personal charismatic Leaders. Leadership & Organization Development Journal, Vol. 31, Issue 5, p Shao, Z., Feng, Y., Wang, T., Liu, L. (2016). The impact mechanism of charismatic leadership on individual s tacit knowledge sharing. WHICEB 2016 Proceedings, p Strom, D. L., Sears, K. L., Kelly, K. M. (2014). Work Engagement: The Roles of Organizational Justice and Leadership Style in Predicting Engagement Among Employees. Journal of Leadership & Organizational Studies, Vol. 21(1), p Sudha, K. S., Shahnawaz, M. G., Farhat, A. (2016). Leadership Styles, Leader s Effectiveness and Well-being: Exploring Collective Efficacy as a Mediator. Vision, Vol. 20, Issue 2, p Tuuli, M. M., Rowlinson, S., Fellows, R., Liu, A. M. M. (2012). Empowering the project team: impact of leadership style and team context. Team Performance Management: An International Journal, Vol. 18, Issue 3/4, p Winston, B., Fields, D. (2015). Seeking and measuring the essential behaviors of servant leadership. Leadership & Organization Development Journal, Vol. 36, Issue 4, p THE MOST PREFERABLE LEADERSHIP STYLE FROM THE POINT OF VIEW OF EMPOYEES Arnoldas Petrulis Klaipėda University (Lithuania) Summary In this article the author discusses leadership styles and their importance in an organisation. Different understandings of leadership styles are presented, and a general conclusion concerning leadership style is made that qualifies it as an activity that is characterised by an important combination of personal features, traits, abilities and behaviour that influence the employees so that the decisions made could guarantee the implementation of the set tasks. Contemporary leadership theories present modern leadership styles: charismatic, transactional, transformational and servant. Charismatic leadership is characterised by such features as charm, inspiration, influence on decision making, vision, special relationships, personal risk taking, trust, unconventional behaviour. Transactional leadership is based on conditional exchange, response to exceptions, lack of stimulation and confidence, compliance with the rules, and assignment of specific tasks. Transformational leadership style is marked by influence, encouragement, inspiration, education, support, trust, personal example, concern, vision, satisfaction. Servant leadership style is noted by suggestions, education, support, thoughtfulness, selflessness, modesty, relationship strength, sociability, understanding of the other person, evidence-based persuasion. Transactional leadership is more focused on the goal, whereas servant leadership is more person oriented. A charismatic leader is less oriented towards the goal and the individual as compared with a transactional leader who is very much oriented towards both of them. Scientific research shows that there is no single best leadership style, and successful leaders insist that the best option is to adjust one s own leadership style to satisfy the needs of the followers in accordance with current circumstances. The objective of this article was to determine the leadership style most preferable from the point of view of employees. The object of the study was the most effective leadership style in an organisation. The research methods were based on conclusions making use of scientific literature, applying the methods of analysis and synthesis evaluating of the importance of leadership styles and concepts, generalising leadership styles, finding out the workers opinion about the preferable management style in their organisa- 120

121 ISSN (Print), ISSN (Online). Regional Formation and Development Studies, No. 1 (21) tion by means of a survey. Leadership styles were evaluated according to the following criteria: decisionmaking process; task presentation; responsibility sharing; attitude towards the employees; nature of relations with the employees; approach to discipline; presentation of values and visions. The respondents of the survey were asked what leadership style of their immediate manager satisfied them. The obtained data shows that the major part of the respondents were rather (18.5%) or completely (25.9%) satisfied, though the group of the respondents who were neither satisfied nor dissatisfied with the leadership style of their immediate manager was the largest in number (33.3%). It was established that the choice of the answer depended on the type of an organisation, particularly in organisations in the field of agriculture, forestry and fish industry, as well as in construction. The respondents were given 28 statements and were asked to evaluate them from 1 to 5, where 1 strongly disagree and 5 completely agree. In conclusion, it can be stated that the preferred leadership style was a combination of transactional and transformational leadership styles, with some advantages of charismatic style not to be dismissed. The research has confirmed the idea found in literature that there is no single best leadership style, and successful leaders adapt their leadership style to existing circumstances so that to satisfy best the needs of their subordinates. There has been also found that the assessment of some features of leadership styles, their approval or disapproval largely depended on the sex of the respondents. The respondents evaluated the acceptance of leadership styles according to the following features: decision making was associated with transactional style; task presentation was associated with a combination of charismatic and transactional styles; responsibility sharing was associated with a combination of charismatic and servant styles; attitude towards the employees was associated with transformational style; relations with the employees and approach to discipline were associated with a combination of transactional and transformational styles; presentation of values and visions was associated with transformational style. It can be concluded that the leadership style that employees prefer most is a combination of transactional and transformational styles with some traits of charismatic style as well. KEYWORDS: leader, leadership style, attributes. JEL CODES: M10, M12. Gauta: Priimta: Pasirašyta spaudai:

122 Ligita Šimanskienė, Rugilė Valiušienė, Biruta Sloka LIETUVOS IR LATVIJOS MUZIEJŲ PASLAUGŲ MODERNIZAVIMAS: STEBĖJIMO REZULTATAI LIETUVOS IR LATVIJOS MUZIEJŲ PASLAUGŲ MODERNIZAVIMAS: STEBĖJIMO REZULTATAI Ligita Šimanskienė 1, Rugilė Valiušienė 2, Biruta Sloka 3 Klaipėdos universitetas (Lietuva), Latvijos universitetas (Latvija) Anotacija Straipsnyje analizuojama muziejų paskirtis ir jų veiklos kismas keičiantis visuomenei. Muziejai turėtų ne tik atlikti kaupiamąją, šviečiamąją, bet ir auklėjamąją funkcijas, siekdami pritraukti išrankius (ypač jaunesnio amžiaus) lankytojus, todėl svarbu paslaugas modernizuoti. Pritaikius stebėjimo metodą, aplankyti 22 muziejai Lietuvoje ir Latvijoje. Taikant teorijoje išskirtus paslaugų modernizavimo kriterijus muziejuose nustatyta, kad vis dar daugelio jų lankymo laikas nepatrauklus, pasigendama paslaugų žmonėms su negalia, trūksta įtraukimo į muziejinę veiklą, elementarių paslaugų, kaip kavinių, parduotuvių, kur lankytojai galėtų nusipirkti replikas, eksponatų suvenyrų kopijas. PAGRINDINIAI ŽODŽIAI: muziejaus paslaugų modernizavimas, stebėjimas, Lietuva, Latvija. JEL KLASIFIKACIJA: M19, L33. DOI: Įvadas XXI amžiuje vis tobulėjančios technologijos ir su tuo susijęs kitų paslaugų tobulėjimas skatina modernizuoti visų organizacijų procesus. Ne išimtis yra ir muziejai. Tačiau lankantis dažname muziejuje Lietuvoje (ir daugelyje kitų šalių) galima atkreipti dėmesį, kad be saugiai sudėtų eksponatų nėra arba beveik nėra kitokių informacijos sklaidos priemonių, interaktyvumo: eksponatai tiesiog sustatyti, jie neįtraukia žiūrovo. Nes dažnas muziejus savo pirmąja pareiga laiko eksponatų kaupimo, restauravimo ir saugojimo, o ne visuomenės informavimo ar edukacines funkcijas. Taip susiformuoja požiūris, kad lankytojai nėra svarbūs. Minėtos problemos kelia klausimą, kaip keisti tiek muziejų darbuotojų, tiek visuomenės požiūrį į muziejus. Manome, kad atsakymas yra muziejų darbuotojų požiūrio į muziejus, kaip įstaigą, keitimas: pradėjus į muziejų teikiamas paslaugas žiūrėti kaip į verslą, bus kreipiamas dėmesys į visas muziejų funkcijas, taip bus galima įveikti nemažai nesklandumų. 1 Ligita Šimanskienė profesorė, daktarė (socialiniai mokslai), Klaipėdos universiteto Socialinių mokslų fakulteto Vadybos katedra Moksliniai interesai: organizacijų valdymas, tarpkultūriniai skirtumai, organizacinė kultūra El. paštas: ligita.simanskiene@gmail.com Tel Rugilė Valiušienė verslo vadybos magistrantė, Klaipėdos universitetas Moksliniai interesai: organizacijų valdymas, organizacinė kultūra El. paštas: rugile.valiusiene@gmail.com 3 Biruta Sloka profesorė, Latvijos universiteto Ekonomikos ir vadybos fakultetas Moksliniai interesai: organizacijų valdymas, finansų valdymas El. paštas: biruta@eurofaculty.lv 122

123 ISSN (Print), ISSN (Online). Regional Formation and Development Studies, No. 1 (21) Mokslinė problema: kaip modernizuoti muziejų paslaugas, išlaikant savo funkcijas ir pritraukiant daugiau lankytojų. Darbo tikslas: atlikti muziejų paslaugų modernizavimo stebėjimą Lietuvos ir Latvijos muziejuose. Darbo metodai: aprašomasis, lyginamasis, analizės, kokybinio tyrimo. 1. Muziejų paskirtis ir paslaugų modernizavimo kriterijai Lietuvos Respublikos muziejų įstatyme muziejaus sąvoka taip aiškinama: muziejus tai juridinis asmuo, veikiantis kaip biudžetinė, viešoji įstaiga ar kitos teisinės formos juridinis asmuo, įsteigtas įstatymų nustatyta tvarka (Valstybės žinios, 2003, Nr ). Tai visuomenei tarnaujanti ir jos bei gamtos raidą atskleidžianti vieša, nuolat veikianti, šio įstatymo nustatyta tvarka įregistruota kultūros įstaiga, kurios pagrindinė veikla yra kaupti, saugoti, tirti, restauruoti, eksponuoti, populiarinti materialines ir dvasines kultūros vertybes bei gamtos objektus. Tarptautinių žodžių žodyne muziejus apibūdinamas kaip kultūros, švietimo įstaiga, renkanti, sauganti, tirianti ir eksponuojanti gamtos, istorijos, materialinės ir dvasinės kultūros vertybes (Tarptautinių žodžių žodynas, 1985: 333). Ž. Gaižutytės-Filipavičienės (2012) teigimu, muziejus, atlikdamas sociokultūrinę, edukacinę veiklą, skatina kaimynystėje gyvenančius žmones siekti naujų, jų veiklai ir egzistencijai reikalingų žinių, kurias galėtų pritaikyti besikeičiančiomis rinkos sąlygomis, įveikiant socialinę atskirtį, sėkmingiau įsiliejant į visavertį visuomenės gyvenimą. Perėjimas nuo objekto prie subjekto reiškė esminę muziejų funkcijų sampratos kaitą: muziejaus tikslas ne tik kolekcionuoti ir saugoti objektus, bet ir informuoti, ugdyti visuomenę (Pearce, 1986). Pagrindinis muziejaus darbas ir veikla turi būti sutelkti ne į objektus, bet į informacijos apie juos pateikimą institucija yra informavimo priemonė (Alsford, 1991). Muziejumi vadinama institucija, kuri mokslo, edukacijos ir laisvalaikio organizavimo tikslais įgyja, kaupia, tyrinėja, populiarina ir eksponuoja žmonijos bei aplinkos materialųjį ir nematerialųjį paveldą. Anksčiau muziejai buvo suvokiami tik kaip kolekcionavimo, konservavimo ir tyrimų institucijos, bet XX amžiaus pabaigoje pradėta kalbėti, kad jie turi rūpintis ir socialine funkcija visuomenėje, edukaciniais bei kultūriniais veiksniais. Šiame kontekste atsirado naujosios muziejininkystės terminas, kuris siejasi su kintančiu muziejaus vaidmeniu visuomenėje (Šuminas, Armonaitė, 2013: 300). Lietuvos visuomenei ir jos institucijoms (kaip ir kitų šalių visuomenėms bei institucijoms) iškilo daugybė naujų iššūkių: globalizacija, informacinių ir komunikacinių technologijų plėtra, migracija, demografinė kaita, kurie, kai kurių sociologų nuomone, leidžia kalbėti apie naujos, globalios tinklaveikos visuomenės atsiradimą (Castells, 2005). Taigi nagrinėdami pokyčius turime atkreipti dėmesį ne tik į technologinį, t. y. naujas priemones, kurios padėtų įgyvendinti muziejaus tikslus, bet ir į socialinį aspektą pakitusius visuomenės poreikius. Naujų technologinių galimybių ir poreikių derinimas ypač svarbus viešojo sektoriaus institucijoms (muziejams, bibliotekoms), kurių tiesioginė funkcija tarnauti visuomenei (Laužikas, 2013). Kultūros organizacijos, būdamos kūrybinės ekonomikos dalis, orientuotos į tikslingą paslaugų kūrimą ir vartojimą. Socialiniu ir politiniu požiūriu jos ne visada atsakingos už savo veiksmus, ne visada remia profesionalius meno eksperimentus, o išlikimo ar naudos klausimus dažnai kelia aukščiau nei visuomenės viešuosius tikslus (Mažeikis, Juraitė, 2015). Kita vertus, dalis kultūros organizacijų nepakankamai veiksmingai plėtoja savo paslaugas, menkai atitinka esamus poreikius, neturi reikiamų komunikacijos kompetencijų. Kaip teigia L. Dovydaitytė (2015), muziejams paprastai būdingas vienakryptės komunikacijos modelis, todėl jų santykis su lankytojais yra hierarchinis, apribojantis aktyvesnį auditorijos dalyvavimą muziejaus veikloje. Be to, autorė teigia, kad neužtenka vien įdiegti interaktyvias priemones, svarbus tikras ryšys su lankytojais. Taigi akivaizdu, kad pokyčiai būtini ir muziejų veikloje. Aptarti muziejų paslaugų modernizavimo kryptis ne taip lengva, nes autoriai skirtingai traktuoja muziejų modernizavimą. Vieni skaitmeninimą aptarinėja kartu su edukacija, kiti edukaciją su komunikacija, treti informacines technologijas kartu su viešinimu. Modernizavimas suprantamas kaip atnaujinimas, keitimas, atsižvelgiant į šių dienų reikalavimus. Taigi analizuojamos muziejų paslaugos turėtų būti atnaujintos, modernizuotos, atsižvelgiant į visuomenėje vykstančius atsinaujinimo procesus. 123

124 Ligita Šimanskienė, Rugilė Valiušienė, Biruta Sloka LIETUVOS IR LATVIJOS MUZIEJŲ PASLAUGŲ MODERNIZAVIMAS: STEBĖJIMO REZULTATAI Straipsnyje bus analizuojamos penkios esminės muziejų modernizavimo kryptys, pagal kurias išskirti muziejų paslaugų modernizavimo kriterijai. Kriterijams priskirta: darnumo aspektai muziejuose, įvertinant ir žmonių su negalia poreikius; skaitmeninimas, informacinių ir komunikacinių technologijų įtaka; edukacinė veikla; viešinimas, sklaida, infrastruktūra; muziejų darbuotojų mokymas, kvalifikacijos kėlimas. Kaip teigia R. Matkevičienė (2013: 153), muziejai turi bendrauti su potencialiais vartotojais, atsirinkti savo tikslinę grupę, nes tik taip galės perduoti tinkamą ir lankytojus dominančią informaciją. D. Siudikienė (2014, 2013) pateikia skirtingus auditorijos dalyvių aktyvumo lygius, todėl, jos teigimu, skirtingos socialinės grupės taiko skirtingus medijų naudojimo šablonus. B. Umbrasienės (2013: 127) nuomone, muziejų edukacinės programos yra puikus sprendimas pakviesti lankytojus ir populiarinti muziejų kaip daugiafunkcę šiuolaikinę kultūros įstaigą. Tai svarbu ne tik pateikiant meno vertybes, bet ir siekiant sudominti lankytojus paveldu, istorija ar įtraukiant į edukacinius žaidimus (Jarockienė, 2006). Svarbu, kad neįgaliesiems būtų užtikrintos galimybės naudotis visa informacija, kaip ir sveikiems žmonėms (Rudžionienė, Lašinytė, 2011: 49). Tačiau (Jastiuginas, 2011: 9) ir muziejams svarbu neužmiršti, kad informacijos saugumo tikslas užtikrinti informacijos konfidencialumą, vientisumą ir prieinamumą. 2. Muziejų paslaugų modernizavimo stebėjimo rezultatai Analizuojant muziejų paslaugų modernizavimą ypač tinkamas dokumentų analizės metodas. Šiuo atveju stebėjimas. A. Valackienės, S. Mikėnės (2008: 90) teigimu, dokumentiniai šaltiniai sociologiniuose tyrimuose gali būti bet kuri informacija, užfiksuota spausdintiniame arba rankraštiniame tekste, įrašyta garso juostoje ar elektroniniu būdu, ar užfiksuota kino juostoje ar fotografijose. Ši samprata šiek tiek skiriasi nuo tradiciškai suprantamos dokumentu vadinamos oficialios medžiagos. Taikant šį metodą svarbu numatyti kriterijus, pagal kuriuos informacija analizuojama. R. Tidikio (2003: 448) teigimu, stebėjimo metodas yra seniausias mokslinis tyrimo metodas, taikomas daugelyje mokslo sričių. K. Kardelis (2005: ) pateikia stebėjimo metodo taikymo reikalavimus: 1) stebėjimas turi konkretų tikslą; 2) stebimų požymių skaičius turi būti minimalus ir tiksliai apibrėžtas, kriterijai aiškūs; 3) stebėti būtina pagal iš anksto parengtą planą; 4) duomenis, gautus stebėjimo metu, turi būti įmanoma palyginti, todėl ir vėl būtini vienodi kriterijai. Mokslininkų (Bitinas ir kt., 2008: 185) teigimu, tyrėjas turėtų būti atviras naujai patirčiai, stengtis gauti informacijos iš įvairių šaltinių, į stebimą situaciją žvelgti iš įvairių taškų. Stebėjimas kokybiniame tyrime leidžia tyrėjui pačiam stebėti tai, kas vyksta, kurti savo versiją, nepaisant stebimų asmeninių žinių, atminties, gebėjimo aiškiai ir tiksliai perteikti informaciją (Kardelis, 2005: ). Tai padeda tyrėjui pamatyti visą vaizdą. Kaip atliekamas stebėjimas? Pirmiausia tyrėjas turi būti kuo objektyvesnis. Svarbu, kad ruošiantis stebėjimui būtų aiškiai nustatytas tikslas, kriterijai, kurių pagrindu ir vyks stebėjimas. Be to, svarbu stebėjimą registruoti: tam tikrus faktus, įvykių seką ir pan. Todėl atliekant muziejų stebėjimą pasirinkti konkretūs kriterijai, į ką reikia atkreipti dėmesį. Be to, pasižymimos pastabos apie tam tikrus pastebėtus įdomius dalykus muziejuose ir fiksuojama fotografuojant. Tyrimo imtis. Imtimi gali būti apibrėžiama socialinių objektų generalinės visumos (generalinė visuma tai tyrimo objektas, apibrėžtas teritorijos, laiko, gamybiniais ar kitais požymiais, kuriam taikomos tyrimo išvados) dalis, atrinkta tirti (Valackienė, Mikėnė, 2008: 143). Imties sudarymą labiausiai lemia du veiksniai: imtis turi būti reprezentatyvi, t. y. kuo labiau atskleisti populiaciją, ir užtikrinti nedidelę imties paklaidą (Pukėnas, 2011: 9). Imties tūris nurodo atvejų skaičių, galintį užtikrinti tyrimo duomenų patikimumą ir reprezentatyvumą. Kai kurie tyrėjai, parinkdami imties tūrį, neskiria tam tiek daug dėmesio, manydami, kad tiriamų atvejų skaičius gali būti parenkamas visiškai laisvai. Todėl šiuo atveju tinkama B. Bitino, L. Rupšienės, V. Žydžiūnaitės (2008: 93) pozicija, kad tyrimo imties sudarymo esmė pasirinkti tokią generalinės aibės dalį, kuri leistų daryti pagrįstas išvadas. Generalinę aibę Rygoje sudaro 37 muziejai, atsirinkta ir apžiūrėta 11 Rygos (Latvijoje) muziejų. Tai sudaro trečdalį visų muziejų. Jie pasirinkti pagal skirtingus muziejaus kriterijus: geležinkelio muziejus, medicinos muziejus, kepurių muziejus, karo muziejus, gamtos muziejus, fotografijos muziejus, miesto istorijos 124

125 ISSN (Print), ISSN (Online). Regional Formation and Development Studies, No. 1 (21) muziejus, meno muziejus, pirklio namas, memorialinis muziejus-butas, muziejus, skirtas atminti laisvės kovoms. Lietuvoje, 2015 metų duomenimis, užregistruoti 96 muziejai. Tyrimui pasirinkta 11 muziejų, kad būtų galima palyginti Rygoje išanalizuotus muziejus. Lietuvoje pasirinkti muziejai: Vytauto Didžiojo karo muziejus, Geležinkelių muziejus, T. Ivanausko zoologijos muziejus, Lietuvos dailės muziejaus (LDM) Vilniaus paveikslų galerija, Lietuvos banko Pinigų muziejus, Žaislų muziejus, Palangos gintaro muziejus, Televizijos bokštas, Valdovų rūmai, V. Mykolaičio-Putino memorialinis butas-muziejus, Lietuvos nacionalinio muziejaus (LNM) Naujasis arsenalas. Taigi stebėti 22 muziejai Lietuvoje ir Latvijoje (po 11 kiekvienoje šalyje). 1 lentelė. Darnumo kriterijai Latvijos muziejuose Kriterijai / muziejai Iš viso Pritaikyti žmonėms su judėjimo negalia ,5 Aplinkosauginiai aspektai (rūšiavimas) + 1 Rėmėjai Pastaba: metų barikadų muziejus; 2 Karo muziejus; 3 Kepurių muziejus; 4 Krisjanio Baronso memorialinis muziejus; 5 Latvijos fotografijos muziejus; 6 Latvijos geležinkelių muziejus; 7 Latvijos gyvosios gamtos istorijos muziejus; 8 Mencendorfo namas; 9 Paulo Stradinio medicinos istorijos muziejus; 10 Dailės muziejus Rygos birža ; 11 Rygos istorijos ir navigacijos muziejus. 2 lentelė. Darnumo kriterijai Lietuvos muziejuose Kriterijai / muziejai Iš viso Pritaikyti su judėjimo negalia (2 dalinai) Aplinkosauginiai aspektai (rūšiavimas) 0 Rėmėjai Pastaba: 1 Geležinkelių muziejus; 2 Karo muziejus; 3 Kauno T. Ivanausko zoologijos muziejus; 4 LDM Vilniaus paveikslų galerija; 5 LNM Naujasis arsenalas; 6 Palangos gintaro muziejus; 7 Pinigų muziejus; 8 Televizijos bokštas; 9 Valdovų rūmai; 10 Vinco Mykolaičio-Putino memorialinis butas-muziejus; 11 Žaislų muziejus. Stebint abiejų šalių darnumo kriterijus, galima pastebėti, kad darnumo požiūriu Lietuvos muziejai toliau pažengę. Iš vienuolikos Latvijos muziejų tik trys yra visiškai pritaikyti žmonėms su judėjimo negalia, vienas iš dalies pritaikytas (Latvijos: 2-as iš dalies, visiškai 6-as, 7-as, 10-as), tuo tarpu didžioji dauguma Lietuvos muziejų pritaikyti žmonėms su judėjimo negalia: aštuoni visiškai pritaikyti, du pritaikyti iš dalies (yra liftai, bet dalis ekspozicijos pasiekiama tik laiptais) (Lietuvos: iš dalies 4-as, 5-as, nepritaikytas 10-as). Į aplinkosauginius aspektus ar rūšiavimą iš visų dvidešimt dviejų muziejų dėmesį atkreipia tik Latvijos gamtos muziejus, kuris turi ekspoziciją, skirtą aplinkosaugai, elektros energijos gamybai ir bendram vandens ratui. Kalbant apie rėmėjus, trys Latvijos muziejai nurodė, kad ieško rėmėjų ar juos parėmė kokia nors įmonė ar Europos Sąjunga (Latvijos: 5-as, 6-as, 10-as), Lietuvoje tai daro šeši muziejai (Lietuvos: 1-as, 4-as, 6-as, 7-as, 9-as, 11-as). 3 lentelė. Informacinių technologijų taikymas Latvijos muziejuose Kriterijai / muziejai Iš viso Interaktyvūs terminalai Žaidimai Audiogidas Pastaba: metų barikadų muziejus; 2 Karo muziejus; 3 Kepurių muziejus; 4 Krisjanio Baronso memorialinis muziejus; 5 Latvijos fotografijos muziejus; 6 Latvijos geležinkelių muziejus; 7 Latvijos gyvosios gamtos istorijos muziejus; 8 Mencendorfo namas; 9 Paulo Stradinio medicinos istorijos muziejus; 10 Dailės muziejus Rygos birža ; 11 Rygos istorijos ir navigacijos muziejus. 125

126 Ligita Šimanskienė, Rugilė Valiušienė, Biruta Sloka LIETUVOS IR LATVIJOS MUZIEJŲ PASLAUGŲ MODERNIZAVIMAS: STEBĖJIMO REZULTATAI 4 lentelė. Informacinių technologijų taikymas Lietuvos muziejuose Kriterijai / muziejai Iš viso Interaktyvūs terminalai Žaidimai Audiogidas Pastaba: 1 Geležinkelių muziejus; 2 Karo muziejus; 3 Kauno T. Ivanausko zoologijos muziejus; 4 LDM Vilniaus paveikslų galerija; 5 LNM Naujasis arsenalas; 6 Palangos gintaro muziejus; 7 Pinigų muziejus; 8 Televizijos bokštas; 9 Valdovų rūmai; 10 Vinco Mykolaičio-Putino memorialinis butas-muziejus; 11 Žaislų muziejus. Tuo tarpu bendra situacija taikant informacines technologijas abiejų šalių muziejuose labai panaši. Penkiuose iš vienuolikos Latvijos ir šešiuose iš Lietuvos muziejų yra interaktyvūs terminalai, kuriuose pateikta informacija pagal muziejaus tematiką (Latvijos: 1-as, 2-as, 3-ias, 6-as, 7-as; Lietuvos: 3-ias, 5-as, 6-as, 7-as, 9-as, 11-as), abiejose šalyse po keturis muziejus (Latvijos 2-as, 3-ias, 6-as, 7-as; Lietuvos 5-as, 7-as, 9-as, 11-as) turi mokomųjų žaidimų, kurie susiję su ekspozicija, pavyzdžiui, žaidimas geležinkelio muziejuje supažindino su šviesų signalais, skirtais mašinistui, žaidimas gamtos muziejuje apie žemės drebėjimus mokyta drebinant žemę po kojomis neteisingai atsakius į klausimą, o žaidimas Lietuvos nacionalinio muziejaus Naujajame arsenale leido sukurti herbą pagal heraldikos taisykles. Audiogidai tiek mokami, tiek ne buvo toli gražu ne visuose muziejuose, nors jų technologija nėra nauja. Juos turėjo tik keturi Latvijos ir šeši Lietuvos muziejai (Latvijos: 3-ias, 7-as, 10-as, 11-as; Lietuvos: 2-as, 4-as, 5-as, 6-as, 8-as, 9-as). 5 lentelė. Edukacija Latvijos muziejuose Kriterijai / muziejai Iš viso Edukacijai skirtos patalpos ir priemonės Vaikų kampelis Organizuojamos parodos Eksponatų lietimas, pojūčių įtraukimas Pastaba: metų barikadų muziejus; 2 Karo muziejus; 3 Kepurių muziejus; 4 Krisjanio Baronso memorialinis muziejus; 5 Latvijos fotografijos muziejus; 6 Latvijos geležinkelių muziejus; 7 Latvijos gyvosios gamtos istorijos muziejus; 8 Mencendorfo namas; 9 Paulo Stradinio medicinos istorijos muziejus; 10 Dailės muziejus Rygos birža ; 11 Rygos istorijos ir navigacijos muziejus. 6 lentelė. Edukacija Lietuvos muziejuose Kriterijai / muziejai Iš viso Edukacijai skirtos patalpos ir priemonės Vaikų kampelis Organizuojamos parodos Eksponatų lietimas, pojūčių įtraukimas Pastaba: 1 Geležinkelių muziejus; 2 Karo muziejus; 3 Kauno T. Ivanausko zoologijos muziejus; 4 LDM Vilniaus paveikslų galerija; 5 LNM Naujasis arsenalas; 6 Palangos gintaro muziejus; 7 Pinigų muziejus; 8 Televizijos bokštas; 9 Valdovų rūmai; 10 Vinco Mykolaičio-Putino memorialinis butas-muziejus; 11 Žaislų muziejus. Nors, kaip buvo galima pastebėti iš tinklalapių stebėjimo, pačios edukacijos yra organizuojamos daugumoje muziejų, atskiras patalpas ir priemones joms vykdyti turi tik trys iš vienuolikos Latvijos muziejų (Latvijos: 3-ias, 6-as, 7-as) ir daugiau negu pusė Lietuvos muziejų (Lietuvos: 1-as, 5-as, 6-as, 9-as, 10-as, 11-as). Susiję su šiuo kriterijumi yra ir vaikų kampeliai, kur vaikai gali piešti ar kitaip žaisti ir susipažinti su ekspozicija juos turi vos du Latvijos ir trys Lietuvos muziejai (Latvijos: 3-as, 6-as; Lietuvos: 1-as, 9-as, 11-as). Eksponatų lietimas, tyrinėjimas ir kitoks, ne vizualinis patyrimas galimas vos trijuose Latvijos ir dviejuose Lietuvos muziejuose Latvijos kepurių geležinkelių ir gamtos muziejuose, Lietuvos pinigų ir žaislų muziejuose. Papildomos parodos, nepriklausančios nuo pagrindinės ekspozicijos, organizuojamos 126

127 ISSN (Print), ISSN (Online). Regional Formation and Development Studies, No. 1 (21) daugelyje muziejų: po septynias abiejose šalyse (Latvijos: 5-as, 6-as, 7-as, 8-as, 9-as, 10-as, 11-as; Lietuvos: 1-as, 2-as, 4-as, 5-as, 6-as, 9-as, 10-as). 7 lentelė. Latvijos muziejų paslaugos, informacijos sklaida Kriterijai / muziejai Iš viso Informacija keliomis LV/EN/RU LV/EN LV/EN LV/EN LV/EN LV/EN kalbomis (nenuolat) Suvenyrai Papildomos paslaugos Fotografavimas be papildomo mokesčio Kavinės + 1 Fotografijų stendai Pastaba: metų barikadų muziejus; 2 Karo muziejus; 3 Kepurių muziejus; 4 Krisjanio Baronso memorialinis muziejus; 5 Latvijos fotografijos muziejus; 6 Latvijos geležinkelių muziejus; 7 Latvijos gyvosios gamtos istorijos muziejus; 8 Mencendorfo namas; 9 Paulo Stradinio medicinos istorijos muziejus; 10 Dailės muziejus Rygos birža ; 11 Rygos istorijos ir navigacijos muziejus. 8 lentelė. Lietuvos muziejų paslaugos, informacijos sklaida Kriterijai / muziejai Iš viso Informacija keliomis LT/ LT/ LT/ LT/ LT/ LT/ LT/ LT/ LT/ kalbomis EN EN EN EN EN EN EN EN EN Suvenyrai Papildomos paslaugos Fotografavimas be papildomo mokesčio Kavinės + 1 Fotografijų stendai + 1 Pastaba: 1 Geležinkelių muziejus; 2 Karo muziejus; 3 Kauno T. Ivanausko zoologijos muziejus; 4 LDM Vilniaus paveikslų galerija; 5 LNM Naujasis arsenalas; 6 Palangos gintaro muziejus; 7 Pinigų muziejus; 8 Televizijos bokštas; 9 Valdovų rūmai; 10 Vinco Mykolaičio-Putino memorialinis butas-muziejus; 11 Žaislų muziejus. Beveik visuose muziejuose informacija pateikiama keliomis kalbomis. Galima pastebėti, kad Latvijos muziejuose tai yra latvių ir anglų kalbos (kartais rusų), Lietuvos muziejuose paprastai lietuvių ir anglų kalbos. Įdomu, kad nesant išverstos informacijos prie visų eksponatų, Latvijos muziejuose galima pasiimti atspausdintus lapus su bendra informacija apie ekspoziciją, tokios praktikos Lietuvos muziejuose nėra. Tačiau Lietuvoje yra daugiau muziejų, kuriuose visi eksponatai aprašyti anglų kalba: tai padaryta devyniuose muziejuose iš vienuolikos, tuo tarpu Latvijoje šešiuose muziejuose. Nors suvenyrų turi didžioji dauguma muziejų (aštuoni Lietuvos ir septyni Latvijos muziejai), pačių suvenyrų kokybė ne pati geriausia, pasirinkimas ir ryšys su muziejumi ar jo eksponatais dažniausia menkas. Papildomas paslaugas siūlo beveik visi muziejai (jų nesiūlo tik vienas muziejus Latvijoje), tai patalpų ar eksponatų nuoma, restauravimo ar panašios paslaugos. Įdomi situacija su neprofesionaliu fotografavimu be blykstės: fotografuoti galima nemokamai beveik visuose muziejuose, išskyrus keturis Latvijos muziejus. Trys iš šių muziejų priklauso vienai muziejų sąjungai, tad panašu, kad tai yra išskirtinis tos sąjungos sprendimas imti papildomą mokestį už nuotraukų darymą. Įdomu tai, kad šie trys muziejai turi specialius stendus darytis fotografijoms, apskritai stendus darytis fotografijoms turi penki Latvijos muziejai ir tik vienas Lietuvos muziejus (Latvijos: 3-ias, 5-as, 6-as, 7-as, 11-as, Lietuvos: 9-as). Kavinė buvo tik viename iš Latvijos muziejų ( Rygos biržos muziejus) ir viename iš Lietuvos muziejų (Televizijos bokštas), galima teigti, kad ji labiau skirta ne muziejaus lankytojams, o norintiesiems pavalgyti gražioje aplinkoje. Tiesa, galima paminėti, kad Pinigų muziejus Lietuvoje nemokamai siūlo saldainių ir vandens praalkusiems ar ištroškusiems lankytojams. 127

128 Ligita Šimanskienė, Rugilė Valiušienė, Biruta Sloka LIETUVOS IR LATVIJOS MUZIEJŲ PASLAUGŲ MODERNIZAVIMAS: STEBĖJIMO REZULTATAI 9 lentelė. Latvijos muziejų darbuotojai Kriterijai / muziejai Iš viso Ekskursijos (gidai) Istoriniai arba stilizuoti darbuotojų kostiumai 0,5 Bendrauja su klientais Iš viso 6 6, , Pastaba: metų barikadų muziejus; 2 Karo muziejus; 3 Kepurių muziejus; 4 Krisjanio Baronso memorialinis muziejus; 5 Latvijos fotografijos muziejus; 6 Latvijos geležinkelių muziejus; 7 Latvijos gyvosios gamtos istorijos muziejus; 8 Mencendorfo namas; 9 Paulo Stradinio medicinos istorijos muziejus; 10 Dailės muziejus Rygos birža ; 11 Rygos istorijos ir navigacijos muziejus. 10 lentelė. Lietuvos muziejų darbuotojai Kriterijai / muziejai Iš viso Ekskursijos (gidai) Istoriniai arba stilizuoti darbuotojų kostiumai 0 Bendrauja su klientais Iš viso ,5 8, Pastaba: 1 Geležinkelių muziejus; 2 Karo muziejus; 3 Kauno T. Ivanausko zoologijos muziejus; 4 LDM Vilniaus paveikslų galerija; 5 LNM Naujasis arsenalas; 6 Palangos gintaro muziejus; 7 Pinigų muziejus; 8 Televizijos bokštas; 9 Valdovų rūmai; 10 Vinco Mykolaičio-Putino memorialinis butas-muziejus; 11 Žaislų muziejus. Ekskursijas su gidais siūlo visi muziejai, tačiau daugumą jų reikia užsisakyti iš anksto ir tai beveik visada bus mokama paslauga, ypač jeigu ekskursijos kalba nevietinė. Jokiame muziejuje darbuotojai nedėvi kostiumų, kurie tiktų istoriniam muziejaus laikotarpiui ar tematikai, tik vienas iš muziejų siūlo paslaugą ekskursiją pravesti su atitinkama apranga ir teatriniais elementais (Mencendorfo namas Rygoje). Darbuotojai aktyviau bendrauja su klientais, pateikia jiems bendrą informaciją apie eksponatus, net jei ekskursija neužsakyta keturiuose Latvijos ir trijuose Lietuvos muziejuose (Latvijos: 1-as, 3-ias, 5-as, 6-as; Lietuvos: 1-as, 10-as, 11-as). Galima teigti, kad muziejaus darbo laikas lemia, kas gali aplankyti muziejų. Iš tirtų Lietuvos muziejų tik vienas dirba pirmadieniais (Televizijos bokštas), sekmadieniais dirba septyni iš vienuolikos muziejų (kitomis dienomis dirba visi muziejai). Panašu, kad Latvijoje susiformavusios kiek kitokios muziejų nedarbo dienų tradicijos: pirmadieniais dirba tik kai kurie muziejai du ar trys, tai priklauso nuo sezono, sekmadieniais dirba dauguma muziejų aštuoni iš vienuolikos (nedirba Latvijos: 1-as, 6-as, 9-as muziejai), maždaug pusė muziejų nedirba antradieniais, tuo tarpu Lietuvoje antradieniais dirba visi muziejai (nedirba Latvijos: 3-ias, 4-as, 5-as, 7-as, 8-as, žiemą 11-as). Kita vertus, penki iš vienuolikos Lietuvos muziejų nedirba švenčių dienomis, dar vienas (Valdovų rūmai) dirba tik tam tikromis švenčių datomis, tuo tarpu visi Latvijos muziejai švenčių dienomis dirba įprastiniu grafiku, išskyrus Latvijos geležinkelių muziejų, kuris nedirba Sausio pirmąją, per Velykas, Jonines, Kalėdas ir paskutinę metų dieną. Abiejose šalyse įprastinis muziejų darbo laikas yra nuo 10 iki 18 valandos, tačiau galima pastebėti, kad yra grupelė muziejų, kurie ilgiau dirba ketvirtadieniais (Lietuvoje tai būtų Žaislų muziejus, jis ilgiau dirba ir penktadieniais, Valdovų rūmai ir apskritai ilgiau dirbantis Televizijos bokštas; Latvijoje net keturi muziejai dirba ilgiau ketvirtadieniais: 5-as, 6-as, 7-as, 9-as). Pastebima, kad du Lietuvos ir trys Latvijos muziejai diferencijuoja savo darbo laiką atsižvelgiant į sezoną: vasarą pailginamos ar pavėlinamos darbo valandos (Lietuvos: 6-as, 7-as; Latvijos: 2-as, 8-as, 11-as), tikintis daugiau turistų. Keli muziejai turi ir kitų darbo laiko apribojimų, pavyzdžiui, dieną prieš valstybines šventes užsidaro valanda anksčiau (Lietuvos: 4-as, 6-as), paskutiniai lankytojai įleidžiami likus valandai iki muziejaus uždarymo (Lietuvos: 6-as, 9-as), muziejus būna uždarytas kiekvieno mėnesio paskutinį penktadienį (Latvijos: 9-as). Bendrai galima pastebėti kad daugiausia technologijų taiko ir muziejų paslaugų modernizavimo kriterijus labiausiai atitinka Latvijos: Geležinkelio, Kepurių, Gamtos, Dailės muziejus Rygos birža ; Lietuvos: Valdovų rūmai, Žaislų, Geležinkelių, Palangos gintaro, Pinigų muziejai. 128

129 ISSN (Print), ISSN (Online). Regional Formation and Development Studies, No. 1 (21) Išvados Vertinant paslaugų kokybę turi būti nuolat analizuojami ir prognozuojami vartotojų poreikiai. Todėl vertinant muziejų paslaugų modernizavimą, nereikėtų užmiršti apie paslaugos kokybės vertinimo galimą subjektyvumą lankytojų požiūriu. Šiame straipsnyje išanalizuotos penkios esminės muziejų modernizavimo kryptys: darnumo aspektai muziejuose, įvertinant ir žmonių su negalia poreikius; skaitmeninimas, informacinių ir komunikacinių technologijų įtaka; edukacinė veikla; informacijos apie muziejaus eksponatus, edukacines programas, sklaida, teikiamos paslaugos; muziejų darbuotojų mokymas, kvalifikacijos kėlimas. Taikytas kokybinis stebėjimo metodas 22 muziejuose Lietuvoje ir Latvijoje, jo rezultatai pateikti ir aptarti šiame straipsnyje. Nepaisant muziejininkų pastangų taikyti naujesnes technologijas ir patraukti lankytojus, galima situaciją gerinti šiose srityse: muziejų pritaikymas neįgaliesiems; informacijos apie muziejų darbuotojus ar jų kvalifikaciją suteikimas; darbuotojų indėlio į lankytojų pritraukimą atskleidimas; suvenyrų, muziejaus atributikos ir reprodukcijų ar replikų kiekio didinimas bei informacijos apie galimybes šių dalykų nusipirkti vietoje suteikimas; informacijos apie muziejų siūlomas paslaugas, jų tinkamumą neįgaliesiems pateikimas; bendro muziejų indėlio į socialinius projektus ir aplinkosaugą pateikimas. Apibendrinant būtų galima teigti, kad tobulintinos visos sritys, tačiau labiausiai galimybių muziejuose lankytis žmonėms su negalia sudarymas, be to, nepakankamai viešinama muziejų veikla, nepakankamai taikomos virtualios, naujausios IT, trūksta suvenyrų, kavinių. Literatūra Alsford, S. (1991). Museums as Hypermedia: Interactivity on a Museum-wide Scale. Hypermedia & Interactivity in Museums: Proceedings of an International Conference. Ed. D. Bearman. Pittsburgh, PA: Archives and Museums Informatics, p Bitinas, B., Rupšienė, L., Žydžiūnaitė, V. (2008). Kokybinių tyrimų metodologija. Klaipėda: S. Jokužio leidykla-spaustuvė. Castells, M. (2005). Tinklaveikos visuomenės raida. Kaunas: Poligrafija ir informatika. Dovidaitytė, L. (2015). Būti muziejaus dalimi: Lietuvos muziejų komunikacija su visuomene. Red. G. Mažeikis, K. Juraitė. Komunikuoti kultūrą: institucijos, strategijos, auditorijos. Kolektyvinė monografija. VDU: Kaunas, p Gaižutytė-Filipavičienė, Ž. (2012). Meno muziejai ir medijos. Lietuvos kultūros tyrimai, Nr. 2, p [interaktyvus]. Prieiga internete: ž Jarockienė, N. (2006). Muziejų edukacinė veikla: istorija, samprata, praktika. Prieiga internete: lt/ateitis/images/kurkime_ateities_muz_leidinys/leidinys_56_62.pdf Jastiuginas, S. (2011). Informacijos saugumo valdymas Lietuvos viešajame sektoriuje. Informacijos mokslai, Nr. 57, p Kardelis, K. (2005). Mokslinių tyrimų metodologija ir metodai. Šiauliai: Lucilijus. Laužikas, R. (2013). Lietuvos muziejai metais: pagrindiniai kiekybiniai veiklos rodikliai, rezultatai ir problemos. Lietuvos muziejai po 1990 metų. Acta Museologica Lituanica, T. 1, p Mažeikis, G., Juraitė, K. (2015). Komunikuoti kultūrą: institucijos, strategijos, auditorijos. Kolektyvinė monografija. VDU: Kaunas, p Matkevičienė, R. (2013). Muziejų komunikacija su tikslinėmis auditorijomis. Modernaus muziejaus veiklos gairės. Muziejininkystės studijos, T. 2, p Vilnius: VU leidykla. Pearce, S. M. (1986). Thinking about Things. Approaches to the Study of Artefacts. Museum Journal, March, p Pukėnas, K. (2011). Kokybinių duomenų analizė SPSS programa. Kaunas: Lietuvos kūno kultūros akademija. Rudžionienė, J., Lašinytė, I. (2011). Informacijos paslaugos neįgaliesiems: informacinės prieigos organizavimas Danijoje. Informacijos mokslai, Nr. 57, p Siudikienė, D. (2013). Skirtingų Lietuvos auditorijos gyvenimo stiliaus grupių laisvalaikio medijų naudojimo ypatumai. Informacijos mokslai, Nr. 66, p Siudikienė, D. (2014). Medijų auditorijų aktyvumo raiška daugiaterpėje medijų aplinkoje. Informacijos mokslai, Nr. 69, p Šuminas, A., Armonaitė, V. (2013). Socialinių medijų taikymas muziejų komunikacijoje: naujosios muziejininkystės aspektas. Acta Museologica Lituanica, T. 1, p Vilniaus universitetas. Tarptautinių žodžių žodynas. (1985). Red. V. Kvietkauskas. Vilnius: Vyriausioji enciklopedijų redakcija. 129

130 Ligita Šimanskienė, Rugilė Valiušienė, Biruta Sloka LIETUVOS IR LATVIJOS MUZIEJŲ PASLAUGŲ MODERNIZAVIMAS: STEBĖJIMO REZULTATAI Tidikis, R. (2003). Socialinių mokslo tyrimų metodologija. Vilnius: Lietuvos teisės universitetas. Umbrasienė, B. (2013). Muziejus visiems ir kiekvienam. Modernaus muziejaus veiklos gairės. Muziejininkystės studijos, T. 2, p Vilnius: VU leidykla. Valackienė, A., Mikėnė, S. (2008). Sociologinis tyrimas: metodologija ir atlikimo metodika. Kaunas: Technologija. Valstybės žinios. (2003). Nutarimas Nr MUSEUM SERVICES MODERNIZATION IN LATVIA AND LITHUANIA: OBSERVATION RESULTS Ligita Šimanskienė, Rugilė Valiušienė, Biruta Sloka Klaipėda University (Lithuania), University of Latvia (Latvia) Summary The evolving technology of the twenty-first century and the following development of other services stimulate all organizations to modernize their processes, and thus museums are no exception. However, while visiting museums in Lithuania (and in other countries) one can often notice that no interactivity or other methods of presentation are used, the exhibits are simply presented excluding the viewer. This stems from the fact that museums feel responsible for exhibition of the collection, as well as for restoration and storage functions, but not for public information and educational functions. This creates an approach that visitors are not important. Therefore these problems inspire a question how to change both the museum staff and the public attitude towards the museum. We suggest that the answer lies in the change of the museum staff s approach to the museum as an institution, i.e., if museum services were viewed as a business and the focus was on the all museum functions, it would be possible to resolve a number of problems. The scientific problem is formulated as a question how to modernize museum services, also maintaining its functions and attracting more visitors. The aim of the article was to observe museum services modernization in Lithuanian and Latvian museums. The methods used for the study were descriptive method, comparative method, analysis, and qualitative research method. As for assessing the quality of services so the consumer needs to be regularly analysed and forecasted. Therefore, while assessing the museum services modernization, it is important to have in mind the visitors possible subjectivity towards the quality of services. This article analyses five key directions of the museum modernization. There are presented the following analysed aspects: sustainability aspect, evaluating the disabled people s needs; digitization, i.e., information and communication technologies influence; educational activities; promotion, communication, proposed services; the museum staff s training and improvement of their qualifications. Therefore, the authors have conducted a survey applying a qualitative observation method, i.e., there have been observed 22 museums in Lithuania and Latvia. However, despite the museum staff s efforts to use new technologies and be more attractive for the visitors, still there are areas that can be improved: accessibility; provided information about the museum staff and their qualifications, disclosing the staff s contribution to attracting the visitors; lack of souvenirs, merchandise and museum reproductions or replicas, as well as information about the possibilities to buy these things on the spot; information about the services offered by the museum, their availability for the disabled; the museum s contribution to social and environmental projects. KEYWORDS: museum services modernization, observation, Lithuania, Latvia. JEL CODES: M19, L33. Gauta: Priimta: Pasirašyta spaudai:

131 ISSN (Print), ISSN (Online). Regional Formation and Development Studies, No. 1 (21) MEDIJŲ EKOLOGIJA: EKOEMOCINĖS SRITIES IDENTIFIKACIJOS TEORINIS KONTEKSTAS Rosita Vaičiulė 1 Klaipėdos universitetas (Lietuva) ANOTACIJA Medijų ekologija neatsiejama nuo visuomenės vystymosi ir asmens socializacijos procesų. Medijų ekologija iliustruoja infosferos srityje veikiančių medijų, visuomenės ir asmens sąveikos procesus, kurie gali būti saugūs ir ekologiški techniniu, komunikaciniu bei psichofiziniu požiūriais. Medijų ekologija neatsiejama nuo komunikacijos procesų, kurie vyksta ir fizinėje, ir mentalinėje erdvėje. Jos sritys: ekogamtinė, ekofizinė ir ekoemocinė. Ekoemocinė sritis nukreipta į medijų ir asmens sąveiką, kur akcentuojamas medijų turinio / tekstų poveikis emocinei ir pažintinei (kognityvinei) patirčiai. Taigi ekoemocinės srities orientyras pozityvi medijinė patirtis, neatsiejama nuo medijinės kompetencijos. PAGRINDINIAI ŽODŽIAI: medijų ekologija, infosfera, medijos, medijinė patirtis, komunikacija, ekoemocinė, ekofizinė, ekogamtinė. JEL klasifikacija: M00 DOI: Įvadas Šiuolaikinės medijų technologijos individų komunikacijos procesus racionalizavo ir išplėtė infosferos galimybes formų bei turinio prasmėmis. Medijų sistema tampa svarbi tarpininkė socialinio, ekonominio, kultūrinio, politinio konteksto komunikacijoje, turinti refleksyvų pobūdį bei nuolat kurianti unikalią erdvę infosferą. Medijos ne tik infosferos kontekste veikiančios ir komunikacines funkcijas atliekančios priemonės, bet ir kanalai, kuriais teka įvairaus turinio informacijos srautai, pateikiantys stereotipus, formuojantys individų požiūrį, nuostatas bei tam tikrą patirtį. Tikrovės recepcija perkoduojama pagal komunikacijos reikalavimų principus, o informacijos erdvė orientuojasi atsižvelgiant į individų lūkesčius, juos modeliuoja ir puoselėja. Medijos terpė, kuri mums siūlo informaciją apie tikrovę pakeistinės patirties pavidalu. Kuo daugiau žmogus gauna informacijos apie pasaulį, tuo labiau pasaulis tolsta nuo žmogaus (Mostauskis, 2011: 35). Infosferoje medijos auditoriją pririša formuoja priklausomybę: Prisirišame prie technologinių procesų, o per juos prie technologinės priklausomybės nuo informacinio srauto tinklų (McLuchan, 2003: 53). Medijos visuomenės narių intelektinių galių, pažangos ir technikos plėtros kūriniai, lemiantys ne tik sociumo kaitą, bet ir bendrą individų patirtį, socializacijos procesus. Taigi aktualizuojasi klausimai, susiję su infosferos saugumu ekologišku medijų naudojimu tiek formos, tiek turinio prasmėmis. 1 Rosita Vačiulė daktarė (socialiniai mokslai), Klaipėdos universiteto Socialinių mokslų fakulteto Politikos ir komunikacijos mokslų katedra Moksliniai interesai: medijos ir socializacija, medijų ekologija: ekoemocinis aspektas, žiniasklaidos rinkodara, viešieji ryšiai El. paštas: Rosita.vaiciule@gmail.com 131

132 Rosita Vaičiulė MEDIJŲ EKOLOGIJA: EKOEMOCINĖS SRITIESIDENTIFIKACIJOS TEORINIS KONTEKSTAS 1. Medijų ekologijos genezė Ekologija vadinama tarpdisciplininiu mokslu, kurio tyrimo metodai ir žinios integruojami į kitų mokslų sritis. Ekologija mokslas, tiriantis organizmų ir jų bendrijų santykius su aplinka. Pagrindiniai šiuolaikinės ekologijos skyriai: bendroji (teorinė) ekologija, bioekologija, ekosferologija, geoekologija, žmogaus ekologija, socialinė ekologija, taikomoji ekologija (Pivrikas, 2008). Medijų ekologija neatsiejama nuo visuomenės vystymosi ir asmens socializacijos procesų. Medijų ekologija iliustruoja infosferoje veikiančių medijų bei visuomenės ir asmens sąveikos procesus, kurie gali būti saugūs ir ekologiški techniniu, komunikaciniu, psichofiziniu požiūriais. Pirmąkart apie medijų ekologiją XX a. septintajame dešimtmetyje prabilo medijų guru Marshallas McLuhanas, kalbėdamas apie asmens ir medijų sąveiką (Strate, 2008; Postman, 2009). Jis atkreipė dėmesį į tai, kad turėtų būti studijuojamas ne tik medijų turinys, bet ir pačios medijos, jų savybės, nes pastarosios veikia visuomenę ir kiekvieną asmenį, sukurdamos tam tikrą komunikacinį efektą (neigiamą /teigiamą) infosferoje. Infosfera informacijos erdvė, implikuojanti komunikacinių procesų tarp individo ir medijų socialinius, psichologinius, kultūrinius ir ekologinius aspektus. Medijos komunikacijos tarpininkės, kurių poveikiai asmeniui turi skirtingus atspalvius: imanentiškumą, konkretumą, abstraktumą ir t. t. Taigi aktualizuojasi komunikacijos proceso apibrėžties esmė (1 pav.). 1 pav. Komunikacijos apibrėžtis Šaltinis: Uznienė, 2011 Komunikacijos procesas turi išorinius (siuntėjas gavėjas ir gavėjas siuntėjas) bei vidinius (žinia ir kanalas) elementus. Siuntėjai ir gavėjai gali būti įvairūs: fiziniai asmenys, jų grupės, techninės sistemos. Siuntėjas (-ai) komunikacijos procese siunčia informaciją, atsako už jos parinkimą, užkodavimą, patikimumą, kokybę, ir, žinoma, už jos perdavimo formą. Gavėjas (-ai) informaciją atkoduoja ir teisingai interpretuoja. Komunikacijos procesas neįmanomas be simboliais užkoduotos informacijos žinios, pranešimo ir kanalo (-ų), kuriuo perduodami minėti elementai, taip pat be grįžtamojo ryšio, trukdžių. Komunikacijos procese žinios siuntėjas visada turi intenciją perduoti tam tikrą informaciją: gavėjas turi motyvą ir iš jo laukiama kažkokių santykių komunikacinio efekto, kuris lemia proceso eigą ir efektyvumą (Jansen, 2008; Nabi, Robin ir kt., 2009). Medijų raida siejama su komunikacijos evoliucija ir revoliucija (medijamorfozėmis) (Pečiulis, 2007). Medijamorfozių sąvoka pasiūlyta R. F. Fidlerio (1997, žr. Pečiulis, 2007). Medijamorfozė ne tik teorija apie 132

133 ISSN (Print), ISSN (Online). Regional Formation and Development Studies, No. 1 (21) technologinės komunikacijos priemonių evoliucijos būdus, bet į kiekvieną komunikacijos formą žvelgiama kaip į sistemos dalį, pripažįstant panašumą ir ryšius, siejančius praeities, dabarties ir atsirandančias komunikacijos formas. Komunikacijos sistema suprantama kaip visuma, kur naujos medijos neatsiranda savaime jos vystosi pamažu kaip senųjų medijų medijamorfozės. Medijų, kuriomis vyksta visuomenės ir asmens komunikacija, raidą galima apibūdinti etapais: iki abėcėlės (ausies kultūra), fonetinės rašybos (akies kultūra), spaudos (Gutenbergo amžius) ir praktinio elektromagnetinių bangų naudojimo (Marconio era). Medijų raida gali būti skirstoma į: logosferą (nuo piešinių iki abėcėlės); grafosferą (spaudos atsiradimas); videosferą (nuo audiovizualinės masinės komunikacijos iki naujausių šių dienų technologijų). Akcentuotini medijamorfozių laiko intervalai: ausies kultūrą nuo garsų iki kalbos atsiradimo skiria šimtai tūkstantmečių; kalbą ir raštą keli tūkstantmečiai; vėliau šimtmečiai ir tik dešimtmečiai (Pečiulis, 2007) (2 pav.). 2 pav. Medijamorfozių procesai Šaltinis: Uznienė, Medijų ekologijos struktūra Medijos yra sistema, kuri, kaip ir visos sistemos, veiksmingai funkcionuoja tam tikrose jai būdingose erdvės ir laiko ribose. Tyrėjai (Listeris ir kt., 2009; McLuchanas, Postmanas ir kt., 2010; Nevinskaitė, 2011) įvardija medijų ekosistemą kaip natūralią asmens aplinką, kurioje turi vykti ekologiški komunikacijos procesai. Taigi galima manyti, kad medijų ekologija integruojasi su žmogaus ir socialine ekologija. Žmogaus ekologiją sudaro kompleksas disciplinų, sąveikaujant žmogui, kaip individui (biologiniam organizmui) ir asmenybei (socialiniam subjektui), su jį supančia gamtine ir jo paties pakeista aplinka. Socialinė ekologija yra mokslas, tiriantis visuomenės ar paskiro individo santykius su jį supančia aplinka bei savimi, padedantis išlaikyti nesutrikdytą, natūralią asmens ir jį supančios aplinkos pusiausvyrą (Pivrikas, 2008). 133

134 Rosita Vaičiulė MEDIJŲ EKOLOGIJA: EKOEMOCINĖS SRITIESIDENTIFIKACIJOS TEORINIS KONTEKSTAS Medijų ekologija neatsiejama nuo komunikacijos procesų, kurie vyksta ir fizinėje, ir mentalinėje erdvėje. Medijos masinės komunikacijos priemonės (žiniasklaida), internete veikiančios komunikacijos priemonės (ir pats internetas), estetinės raiškos priemonės (fotografija, kinas, TV, videomenas ir t. t.); 2) komunikacijos kontekste veikianti ir komunikacines funkcijas atliekanti priemonė; 3) visuomeninio sąryšio mašinos, kanalai, kuriais teka informacijos srautai, jos suteikia pranešimui specifinę formą, įveikia erdvę ir laiką, yra tarpininkai ir kuria tarpininkavimo erdvę, yra refleksyvaus pobūdžio tai visuomenės savistabos instancija; 4) terpė, kuri mums siūlo informaciją apie tikrovę pakeistinės patirties pavidalu. Medijas galima apibrėžti ir grupuoti pagal funkcijas (3 pav.). 3 pav. Medijų klasifikacija pagal funkcijas Šaltinis: Uznienė, 2011 Medijos apibūdinamos kaip natūrali individo aplinka (jos savaime būtų ir tradicinės ekologijos studijų objektai), kita vertus, medijos mokslo ir technologijų pažangos rezultatai (McLuhan, Marshall, 2003). Medijos gali būti apibūdinamos kaip: komunikacijos priemonės (internetas, vaizdo ekranai, spauda, kinas, knygos), padedančios dirbti, bendrauti, spręsti problemas; materialūs produktai: fotoaparatai, laikmenos, televizoriai, knygos, žurnalai, vaizdo kameros ir t. t., kurie kuria, transliuoja ar kitaip sąveikauja su individais. Taigi medijos gali būti akcentuojamos ir kaip fiziniai, materialūs, ir kaip kūrybos, komunikacijos objektai. Galima skirti pagrindines medijų ekologijos sritis: Ekogamtinė neekologiškos gamybos medžiagos keičiamos ekologiškesnėmis, mažinamas medžiagų sunaudojimo kiekis. Spaudos perkėlimas iš popieriaus į elektroninį formatą, elektroninių ir tradicinių laiškų mainai žingsnis ekologijos link. Elektroniniai laiškai ir dokumentai sutaupo nemažai popieriaus. Pasikeitusios laikmenų medžiagos ir jų dydžiai garso (ir apskritai informacijos) įrašų laikmenos evoliucija, kuri siejama su informacijos ekologija, kai DVD pakeitė CD: sunaudojama mažiau medžiagų CD gamybai, vėliau mažesnės sąnaudos utilizuojant (perdirbant) panaudotus CD. Ekofizinė susijusi su medijų poveikiu individų fiziniam kūnui (regėjimui, laikysenai, bendrai fizinei savijautai). Laikantis medijų ekofizinių rekomendacijų, ne tik tausojama sveikata, bet ir sunaudojama mažiau elektros energijos, dažniau būnama gryname ore, natūralioje gamtinėje aplinkoje. Ekoemocinė susijusi su medijų poveikiu individų psichoemocinei sveikatai (būsenai, jausenai, emocinei ir pažintinei patirčiai). Medijų tekstai: reklamos, nuotraukos, kino filmai, TV programos, knygos, laikraščiai ir žurnalai, interneto platformos veikia psichoemocinę sveikatą. Kiekvieno žmogaus sąmonė kasdien yra užliūliuojama, atakuojama ir kitaip veikiama spalvingų, judrių, intensyvių ir dažnai triukšmingų turinių bei įmantrių tekstų. Medijos terpė, kuri mums siūlo informaciją apie tikrovę pakeistinės patirties pavidalu. Kuo daugiau žmogus gauna informacijos apie pasaulį, tuo labiau pasaulis tolsta nuo žmogaus (Mostauskis, 2011: 35) (4 pav.). 134