Schizophrenic public administration reform in Hungary. Tension between anti-NPM systemic and pro-NPM organizational reforms

The aim of the paper is to highlight the main characteristics of the recent Hungarian public administration reform, as well as to reveal the inconsistent nature of some of its elements and to describe the connected risks. The starting point of the article is the Magyary Zoltán public administration development programme. The reform steps are compared to the ideal type NPM approach. The Hungarian public administration reform can be characterized by strong centralization and the revitalization of Hungarian anti-liberal traditions at macro level, and by the support of the enhancement of market rules and management at micro level.

The Impact of Proactive Strategies on Market Performance in Economic Downturn: the Case of Hungary

Recession in 2008/09 affected almost all the European countries seriously but some of them were hurt to greater extent. The timing of economic downturns can never be appropriate but it found Hungary at the time when it was in a vulnerable condition leading to a prolong struggle to find the way out. However, each company’s own experience and approach in crisis can differ from what the whole economy would explain. This study aims to contribute to the emerging research field regarding the concept of proactive marketing. We investigated the relationship between approach to crisis as an opportunity and market performance. Based on a survey of 173 companies we demonstrated that proactive marketing can lead to better performance but larger companies have the advantage of implementing this strategy more successfully.

A posztmodern marketing elvei és gyakorlata a turizmus piacán - Mátrix és turizmus (Theories and practice of the post-modern marketing on tourism market – Matrix and tourism)

Jelen tanulmány a posztmodern kor fogyasztási tendenciáit és a posztmodern marketing sajátos fejlődését elemzi, elsősorban a turizmus példáján. A szerzők a hazai és a nemzetközi szakirodalom, illetve saját kutatásaik és megfigyeléseik alapján ütköztetik az ismert és elfogadott elveket, elméleteket a gyakorlattal, és felhívják a figyelmet a marketingtevékenység alkalmazkodásának hazai problémáira. A Vezetéstudomány című folyóirat 2008/9. számában rendkívül érdekes tanulmány jelent meg Mitev Ariel Zoltán és Horváth Dóra tollából „A posztmodern marketing rózsaszirmai” címmel. A tanulmány előremutató, érdekfeszítő és minden tekintetben konstruktív, újszerű. Jelen tanulmány szerzőire is nagy hatást gyakorolt a cikk, nagyrészt felsorolt erényei miatt, de egyes esetekben kiegészítést kívánva. Mindenképpen inspirálta a továbblépést, az újabb adalékok megfogalmazását, amire ezúton e tanulmány szerzői kísérletet tettek. A cikk egyben szerves gondolati folytatása a szerzőpáros korábbi közös publikációinak, elsősorban a Marketing & Menedzsment folyóiratban megjelent cikknek. _______ In this article the author will analyze consumption tendencies of post-modern age, mainly using tourism marketing examples. Their analysis has been based on results of their own researches and researches published in Hungarian and international marketing literature. In this article they try to confront different theories of post-modern marketing and they will analyze problems of applicability of these theories in Hungarian marketing problem solving. An extremely interesting article was published in Vezetéstudomány (2008/9), written by Zoltán Mitev Ariel and Dóra Horváth, and this article, by its interesting, innovative and constructive aspect has largely influenced authors of present article to continue the path proposed in the abovementioned article. The article, in the same time, is an organic continuation of the earlier common publications of the authors, e.g. the recent article in Marketing & Menedzsment journal.

Formalization of the informal venture capital market - Business angel networks and syndicates

Business angels are natural persons who provide equity financing for young enterprises and gain ownership in them. They are usually anonym investors and they operate in the background of the companies. Their important feature is that over the funding of the enterprises based on their business experiences they can contribute to the success of the companies with their special expertise and with strategic support. As a result of the asymmetric information between the angels and the companies their matching is difficult (Becsky-Nagy – Fazekas 2015), and the fact, that angel investors prefer anonymity makes it harder for entrepreneurs to obtain informal venture capital. The primary aim of the different type of business angel organizations and networks is to alleviate this matching process with intermediation between the two parties. The role of these organizations is increasing in the informal venture capital market compared to the individually operating angels. The recognition of their economic importance led many governments to support them. There were also public initiations that aimed the establishment of these intermediary organizations that led to the institutionalization of business angels. This study via the characterization of business angels focuses on the progress of these informational intermediaries and their ways of development with regards to the international trends and the current situation of Hungarian business angels and angel networks.

Stress events in the Hungarian stock market

Central clearing and the role of central counterparties (CCP) has gained on importance in the financial sector, since counterparty risk of the trading is to be managed by them. The regulation has turned towards them lately, by defining several processes, how CCPs should measure and manage their risk. Stress situation is an important term of the regulation, however it is not specified clearly, how stress should be identified. This paper provides a possible definition of stress event based on the existing risk management methodology: the usage of risk measure oversteps, and investigates the potential stress periods of the last years on the Hungarian stock market. According to the results the definition needs further calibration based on the magnitude of the cross-sectional data. The paper examines furthermore whether stress is to be predicted from market liquidity. The connection of liquidity and market turmoil proved to be contrary to the expectations; liquidity shortage was rather a consequence, than a forecaster phenomenon in the tested period.

Piaci rend és társadalmi normák. Hayek elmélete a társadalmi evolúcióról (Market order and social norms Hayek's theory of social evolution)

A hayeki szociokulturális evolúció elmélete a piaci rend elemzésének általánosítása. Hayek mind a piaci rend, mind a piaci rend alapzatául szolgáló társadalmi intézmények kialakulását és működését azonos logika alapján magyarázza. Ez a logika az egyéni cselekvések nem szándékolt következményeként értelmezi a spontán rend és a csoportszintű magatartásszabályok kialakulását és fennmaradását. A társadalmi normák magyarázatában a módszertani individualizmus elveinek érvényesítéséért az evolucionista perspektíva feladásával kellene fizetni. Hayek azonban a társadalmi normák magyarázatára is az evolucionista megközelítést alkalmazza, ezért egészíti ki a módszertani individualista megközelítést funkcionalista-evolucionista érvekkel. A szociokulturális evolúció hayeki elmélete példa arra, hogy a módszertani individualizmusra épülő magyarázat és a funkcionalista érvelés nem kiszorítja, hanem kiegészíti egymást. _____ Hayek's theory of socio-cultural evolution is a generalization of his theory of market order. He explains in the same way the development and operation of market order and those of the social institutions on which market order is based. This logic interprets the development and persistence of spontaneous order and group-level behaviour rules as an unintentional consequence of individual actions. In his explanation of social norms, enforcement of the principles of methodological individualism has to be paid for by abandoning the evolutionist perspective. But Hayek also employs an evolutionist approach in his explanation of social norms, and so he augments his methodological individualist approach with some functionalist-cum-evolutionist arguments. Hayek's theory of sociocultural evolution, for instance, exemplifies how an explanation resting on methodological individualism and a functionalist argument can complement, not preclude each other.