The humanities and social science

This article considers the tariff policy issues serving as the focus of economic discussions, since their solution has a profound effect on the opportunities of the country’s economic development. The tariff policy problems impair the efficiency and competitiveness of national business and lower living standards. The government declares its readiness to limit the growth of tariffs, which, however, suggests “manual operation” and stopgap measures. The author emphasizes the need to reconsider the methodology and principles of public tariff policy.

This article argues that the globalisation of markets and the transition to the information society requires the management of modern organisations to develop new solutions and approaches to management. The development of network society suggests a transition to management in the conditions of growing market turbulence and interdependence of market actors. Therefore, the ability of managers to align the diverse interests of stakeholders — groups, organizations, and individuals that affect or may be affected by the organization's actions — appears to be crucial for its success. It raises a number of management issues, which require resolution both in theory and practice. One of the most urging and acute problems is that of aligning stakeholders' interests in interfirm networking.

This article considers the issues of trust in banks in terms of the rationality of clients’ behavior and behavioural economy. The author’s empirical study of 370 owners of small and microfirms located in the Warmian-Masurian voivodeship suggests that approximately 69 % of the respondents prefer the services of Polish banks (or those dominated by Polish capital) and 10.1 % prefer banks with foreign capital. The rest of the respondents (20.9 %) have no particular opinion on the subject.

The authors present a methodology for assessing the competitiveness of municipalities on the basis of an integrated approach. The validity of the method of integrated assessment of the competitiveness of municipalities is demonstrated in the case of the Kaliningrad region. The authors use a complex of statistical data on the condition of economy and major spheres of human activity in municipalities. The results of the assessment can be applied by the authorities in solving the urgent problems of development of subregional entities.

This article analyses the need for, and barriers to, the replacement of fixed assets for enterprises. The author presents a business model of renovation funds for the replacement of enterprises’ fixed assets based on the optimal ratio between an increase in depreciation expense and growth in the expected revenue from an opportune technological upgrade. Special attention is paid to the integration of the innovative mechanism of depreciation charges and savings in regulating the depreciation policy in Russian enterprises

An entrepreneur is regularly faced with the problem of reducing potential economic risks; however, the assessment of risk hedging effect is often complicated. This article presents a typology of economic risks and a methodology for commodity risk hedging. The author proposes a model of open position hedging and introduces the problem of presenting hedging results

This article presents proposals to ensure a balanced development of the strategic areas of regional specialization based on managerial decisionmaking in the conditions of the system uncertainty of integrated coastal interaction. To this end, it is suggested that a balanced scorecard system identifying the possibility of aligning such decisions and maintaining the synergy effect in the chosen directions of prospective ratio development is applied.

This article addresses the issues of rational resource management as the priority areas of modern Russian public policy. The study focuses on vital resources and the identification and optimization of losses associated with such resources. The authors propose a system of indicators for assessing loss management designed to facilitate the solution of problems of increasing resource utilization efficiency.

This article suggests forecasting socioeconomic and marketing processes in the Russian market conditions of a transitional period with the help of cluster modelling, which would significantly increase the objectivity of assessing the identified processes and the impact of research.

This article considers the method of cluster formation through applying the principles of hierarchical cluster analysis of multidimensional statistical data of factors affecting the competitive advantages of hotel firms and its testing in the Kaliningrad hotel services market. The authors identify the clusters in the Kaliningrad hotel services market and describe the objects most involved in competition, as well as the objects potentially possessing both similar and unique factors affecting their competitive advantages.

In the framework of the research problem of increasing the effectiveness of marketing activities, the authors describe a layered approach to assessing marketing effectiveness with the use of a balanced scorecard system, as well as the results of its practical application in the case of large industrial enterprises of the Kaliningrad region. The article presents the authors’ layered system of models of development of an information base for assessing marketing effectiveness.

This paper proposes a scheme for a preliminary comparative analysis of results obtained in studying different countries that participated in the “Contemporary marketing practices” project and outlines further patterns of crosscountry comparisons.

The subject of this study is the influence of area factors on the innovation activities of small enterprises. The main theoretical aspects of regional asymmetry of economic development are analyzed. The article presents the author’s method of assessing regional asymmetry of small enterprise innovation development and the mechanism of its diagnostics tested in the case of the regions of the Northwestern Federal District of the Russian Federation. The most meaningful factors affecting innovation activities of small enterprises are identified.

Every science uses the concepts, in which the knowledge accumulated by it is concentrated. The methodology of economic logistics is a general theoretical approach to studying material and related flows in economic systems that based on a special understanding of reality within a certain philosophical framework. As science, logistics applies the laws of organization of elements into a functional whole as a result of the practices of logistic structure formation. Alongside general laws, the system of logistic knowledge includes the laws of philosophy, general economic theory, as well as the laws, categories, and concepts identified and brought to a certain level of generalization by logistics itself.

This article analyses the problems of civil law regulation, identifies contentious issues, and states that the dispositive principle can act as a basis for economic relations development.

The introduction of the contract system in the field of procurement in the Russian Federation entails significant changes in the established practices. The scope of legal relations governed by the rules of regulation of public and municipal procurement is increasing. The expansion of methods for procurement centralization contributes to the efficacy of actions of those participating in the process. The introduced limitations on procuring from a single supplier support the principle of competitiveness.

This article analyses civil and educational legislation as to the use of concepts pertaining to economic activities in education. Special attention is paid to the concepts of economic, entrepreneurial, and profit generating activities, as well as the criteria of its implementation in the field of education. The author emphasizes the need to standardize these concepts in the framework legislation.

This article discusses certain conditions of an employment contract with a remote employee. The author’s perspective on the age of a remote employee is presented. The article addresses the issue of introducing obligatory conditions of an employment contract – the employee’s function, working schedule, and remuneration. Proposals for improving the current labor legislation are made

This article identifies the principles behind the international protection of the marine environment of the Baltic Sea. The author analyses their content and legal force on the basis of the provisions of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, international conference declaration, as well as the judicial practice of the International Court of Justice, International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea, and international commercial arbitration courts.

The article stresses that, in the modern world, economic activities have a significant negative effect on environmental security. The human impact on the environment is a result of gross violations of environmental laws. The law enforcement measures introduced in the field of environmental pollution often prove to be ineffective. The complications associated with identifying environmental crimes and concrete offenders result in increasing latency of environmental crimes. There is a need to decrease their latency in Russia through improving legal regulation and control in the field of environmental protection.