DOI: 10.3897/brics-econ.7.e138473

Authors: Palesa Lefatsa, Gabila Nubong

Abstract: This study investigates the interconnections between financial development, economic growth, and energy consumption within the Southern African Development Community (SADC) region between 1980 and 2023. Using the Panel Autoregressive Distributed Lag (PARDL) model alongside Dumitrescu and Hurlin (2012) causality tests, the research provides new insights into the dynamics of these variables. The study reveals a significant positive correlation between financial development, economic growth, and energy consumption. The key finding is the negative relationship between energy consumption and urbanization, while no significant linkage is found between energy consumption and industrialization. The Granger causality test reveals a unidirectional causal link between financial development, urbanization, and energy consumption, and a bidirectional relationship between economic growth and energy consumption. These findings contribute to existing literature by offering a more nuanced understanding of the region’s energy consumption dynamics compared to previous studies that have often presented inconclusive or context-specific results. This study extends previous research by examining the unique economic and energy challenges faced by the SADC countries, providing fresh evidence for policymakers focused on integrating financial sector development with sustainable energy policies. The study suggests that investing in renewable energy and expanding electricity access, especially in rural areas, could enhance both urbanization and financial sector growth, fostering broader economic development. The diagnostic checks affirm the robustness and reliability of the model, ensuring the validity of the findings.

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DOI: 10.3897/brics-econ.7.e162186

Authors: Vladislav Vertogradov

Abstract: This paper explores the development of competition in the Russian marketplace sector from 2016 to 2024. To assess market power and differences between major companies, the study uses Data Insight ratings, which include online sales volume, number of orders, and average order value. These indicators enabled the construction of a strength–variety (SV) matrix that integrates the Herfindhal–Hirschmann Index and the Linde Index. Drawing on Russian and international literature, this paper identifies four groups of factors underlying marketplace competitive advantages: pricing strategy, logistics, marketing and technological innovation. It then compares major market players, namely Wildberries, Ozon, Megamarket, AliExpress Russia, Yandex Market and Magnit Market, with respect to each of these factors. In the medium term, the combination of advanced technological solutions and flexible delivery services is expected to be the primary competitive axis, which suggests further research into the impact of digital transformation on market-share dynamics.

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DOI: 10.3897/brics-econ.7.e169938

Authors: Lubov Levaeva, Julia Zvorykina, Andrei Kalmykov, Sadhan Ghosh

Abstract: The paper discusses several aspects of Russian food sovereignty within the BRICS association, including the effectiveness of franchising systems, the use of trademarks and private labels, and issues related to packaging processing. The Food Security Doctrine of the Russian Federation aims to increase the export potential of agricultural products by developing domestic production and establishing long-term partnerships with international partners. This is an important factor in ensuring food sovereignty. Retail chains are an effective platform for promoting products from national suppliers. The success of international retail chain activities confirms the effectiveness of franchising systems in expanding business into foreign markets. Franchising is one of the most effective business models for developing export potential of the Russian firms in international markets. This study examines various franchise systems integrated by Russian and foreign retail chains into their operational activities. Most retail chains offer business-format franchises that involve requirements for store size, style, and assortment. One of the elements of franchising is the use of the firms’ own trademarks. These trademarks play a significant role in promoting goods in foreign markets, particularly private label products because they allow vendors to take into account the unique traditions and consumer preferences of each country where their business operates. Private labels are also one of the most flexible tools for effective operational activities as they help to regulate the supply chain at every stage, thus reducing costs. The paper summarizes data on consumers in the BRICS countries and identifies the characteristics of populations that are important for firms’ operational activities, including the average age of residents, religious and cultural diversity. Analyzing the specific features of a territory to identify potential business opportunities allows the retail chain to create an assortment that satisfies the needs of consumers in a particular trading area. Today, trade in food products generates a large amount of waste packaging worldwide. As important participants in supply chains, retailers play a role in regulating the types of packaging and its processing possibilities. When planning future activities, a trading company evaluates market conditions to forecast operational success. The paper examines factors affecting future demand and conducts a regression analysis of consumption patterns in the BRICS countries.

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DOI: 10.3897/brics-econ.6.e136887

Authors: Aleksandr Ivanov

Abstract: This paper concerns Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) employer branding and its impact on employee attraction and retention, seeking to systematize academic knowledge about their interconnections and links to other important management issues. We made a systematic literature review focusing on empirical papers published in academic journals over the last 10 years, which enabled us to identify the directions of contemporary research, commonly used methodologies and contexts explored. It shows that CSR initiatives are increasingly recognized as a critical dimension of employer branding. Alignment of CSR practices and employer branding strategies is essential for attracting top talent. We also observed a strong link between CSR and employer attractiveness, career development, organizational identification, corporate reputation and person-organization fit, which underscores the multifaceted nature of CSR employer branding. It has been found that CSR researchers predominantly use quantitative methodologies in their studies and tend to explore the firms that work in the IT industry. The paper discusses the current state of CSR employer branding research and outlines possible avenues for future studies.

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DOI: 10.3897/brics-econ.5.e129880

Authors: Anna Mishina, Denis Andreyuk, Wenbo Xu

Abstract: The paper seeks to explore the core life values of people living in Russia and China using an online survey in the respondents’ native languages with samples of 887 and 559 participants from each country respectively, who were asked to think of three words associated ‘with something most important in life’. The word-association arrays were translated into English by an automatic translator; then we compared the frequencies of individual words or those of their meanings obtained using the Roget’s Thesaurus. The words ‘family’ and ‘love’ were the most frequent in both samples, but the frequencies of these and most of the other words from the semantic core of each sample differed significantly. Analyses at the level of semantic vectors showed that more than half of the meanings that Russian respondents described as important and more than a third of the meanings important to the Chinese respondents had significant differences in frequencies between the samples. The paper presents 62 semantic groups of the Roget’s Thesaurus, the frequencies of which are reliably different; these are the meanings in which the Chinese and Russian samples differ with regard to life values. There are also 26 semantic groups, the frequencies of which are statistically the same and comparatively high in both samples: these are the common meanings. The results may be used in the design of automatic and AI systems to reduce the intercultural barriers.

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DOI: 10.3897/brics-econ.5.e126783

Authors: Lukmon Oderinde, Gbenga Sanusi, Ojo Adelakun, Matthew Agbawn

Abstract: There is a wide consensus about the role of economic policy in attaining macroeconomic goals of high employment, price stability, and rapid economic growth. It is not clear, however, to what extent the monetary instruments can contribute to the development of self-owned enterprises. Monetary policy is one of the major policy tools for promoting business and investment once it is geared towards reducing unemployment. This study aims to assess the effect of monetary policy on self-owned enterprises in a developing economy, such as Nigeria. Based on the modern monetary theory which offers an alternative way of reaching full employment and price stability, the authors employ Toda-Yamamato-Dolado-Lutkepohl causality test to carry out an empirical analysis of the quarterly data for the period between 1991 and 2022. The effects of changes in the broad money and lending rates are similar. A unit broad money-related shock leads to little or no change in self-employment and there is a quick convergence to equilibrium. The paper provides robust empirical evidence revealing the effects of the two key monetary policy variables on self-owned business in a developing economy. For policy purposes it is important to point out that monetary policy does not directly affect self-owned businesses in Nigeria. It is concluded that monetary policy will be more effective in promoting self-owned businesses if there are special funds and lending rates for the small-scale businesses.

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DOI: 10.3897/brics-econ.5.e121606

Authors: Akim M. Rahman, Lavina Maureen Zaman

Abstract: In today’s business-driven world, e-banking service is an important product in financial sectors of many countries and Pakistan is no exception. Many affect the delivery of these services, often unpredictable, factors and are fraught with serious pitfalls including those of psychological nature. The Voluntary Insurance scheme can help the country overcome existing difficulties and move closer to a cashless society, contributing to the growth of the banking sector and safety of the e-banking operations in Pakistan. The new e-banking legal products are expected to gratify consumers, make the banks stronger, and contribute to the overall social development; the proposed Voluntary Insurance is to guarantee their success. The Welfare Analyses have been used for setting the VI prices so that the customers’ efficiency-cost balance could become appealing. Once the policymakers and policy practitioners of Pakistan recognize the importance of the proposed VI product and make the necessary arrangements for its use in the e-banking services market, it may spread from bankers to their customers and thus over the whole economy. The process of life cycle of the VI product will follow the “S-curve” in progression. These developments will become drivers of economic growth and e-services will eventually replace traditional banking.

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DOI: 10.3897/brics-econ.4.e112810

Authors: Elena Sharko, Dariya Bashkova

Abstract: The streaming music service is one of the most important elements of digital ecosystems. Subscriptions, pre-orders, and in-app track purchases are extremely valuable for developers of streaming services, who are interested in promoting them among users. Previous studies do not contain comparative analyses of consumer behaviour of music streaming services for users in different countries. The purpose of the study is to compare the factors of choice of Russian users and users from China. The study consists of in-depth interviews with Russian service employees, followed by a quantitative survey that helps to identify the main factors of choosing a music streaming service. We discovered differences in the significance of factors for Russian and Chinese users. Logistic regression analysis allowed us to identify a variety of choice factors with different significance for customers who use the service; in order to succeed, ecosystems including music streaming services should immerse themselves in the particularities of consumer behaviour in a certain country, taking into account the uniqueness of the music market.

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DOI: 10.3897/brics-econ.3.e97857

Authors: Ekaterina Buzulukova, Alina Kobets

Abstract: The mobile games industry has become one of the most popular areas of mobile application development over the past five years. In-app purchases (IAP) are extremely valuable for developers/publishers, and they are interested in promoting them to users. However, previous research revealed differences between drivers of IAP for users from various countries. Authors compare drivers of Russian players and other emerging countries users. The design of the study consists of in-depth interviews with Russian users, followed by a quantitative survey that helps to identify the main drivers of in-app purchases. We found differences in the significance and the list of the drivers for Russian players. Cluster analysis allowed us to identify diverse segments with different priorities, so to be successful, game developers should dive into the peculiarities of the behavior of players in a particular country.

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