Ostrom’s polycentric model for the governance of social systems has been gaining popularity as an alternative approach to the low-carbon energy transition in recent years. This article considers its potential application to three issues in Bulgaria’s green energy transition: finding substitutes for coal-based electricity production in the Maritsa-East lignite complex, providing new employment opportunities for workers affected by the transition, and understanding the broader social impacts of moving away from the traditional hierarchic model in the energy sector. It is important to note that while polycentric organizing is intended to support low-carbon solutions, it could also serve the interests of coal energy actors, who may prioritize short-term gains over the long-term public interest. Overcoming inertia is a major challenge for adopting the polycentric principle as part of Bulgaria’s industrial policy, particularly in implementing decentralized low-carbon energy solutions.

As cornerstones of worldwide sustainable development, the circular economy and the circular carbon economy are profoundly interrelated. However, opinions differ on how to optimize the circular economy towards reducing carbon dioxide emissions. This article aims to investigate the different levels of readiness for the circular carbon economy within G20 member countries in the domain of economic efficiency. In that regard, a selection of circular carbon economy sub-indicators has been analysed. Through the use of secondary data, tendencies towards change in this variability were found. The degree of adoption of a circular carbon economy differs among the G20 economies. In terms of the various factors considered in the G20 member countries, the current analysis has determined that there continue to be substantial differences between the best performers and their enabling factors.

The development of information and communication technology (ICT) has significantly transformed the socio-economic structure of society, particularly in terms of income distribution. This study aims to analyse the impact of ICT development on income inequality across 34 provinces in Indonesia from 2012 to 2020, employing econometric methods based on panel data through a fixed effects model. Empirical findings reveal that ICT readiness and ICT skills tend to exacerbate income inequality, while ICT use and its quadratic form contribute to reducing it. These results suggest that although ICT infrastructure and skills are crucial, their uneven distribution and utilisation can widen income disparities. Consequently, this study highlights the importance of ensuring equitable access to ICT across Indonesia to mitigate economic inequality. The study's recommendations stress the pivotal role of the government in expanding ICT infrastructure, fostering a research and innovation climate conducive to digital transformation, and formulating policies that enhance ICT skills nationwide. These measures would improve digital literacy, upgrade workforce capabilities, and promote inclusive digital economic growth. Ultimately, comprehensive and equitable ICT development can play a critical role in reducing income inequality across Indonesia.

Agriculture is Bulgaria's oldest and most traditional industry. It has gone through many processes that have shaped and help explain its current state. In the recent past, the return of land to its owners has had a strong impact on farms and their development. In Bulgaria, risk management in agricultural production structures is a relatively new issue with great potential for development. The aim of the study is to assess the realities, problems and opportunities in risk management within the production structures of Bulgarian agriculture. A PESTEL analysis was carried out, and the results confirm the hypothesis that agriculture is a high-risk sector with elements that are dynamic.

The digital transformation is profoundly changing organizations and creating new comparative advantages but also necessitating new approaches to management and organizational strategy. The majority of research on business’ digital transformation focuses on technological adoption, innovation, value creation and the dynamic capabilities of organizations. However, the question of why different organizations approach the digital transformation in various ways remains less explored. This article examines the possibilities of inferring various factors that have an impact on the adoption of digital technologies in order to improve the understanding of organizations' digital transformation strategies.

Factors such as size, internationalization, research and development (R&D) expenses, foreign direct investment (FDI), turnover, wages and salaries have an expected impact on the adoption of new technologies in an organization and its digital transformation. This is supported by organizational theories such as the resource-based view (RBV), the knowledge-based view (KBV) and the technology-organization-environment (TOE) frameworks. Through examples from the scientific literature, a summary is provided on how the study of the interrelationships between these factors and organizations’ digital transformation can contribute to a better understanding of the different strategies in this field.

Farmers face the challenges of climate change and rising production costs, forcing them to apply the most efficient farming practices in order to achieve sustainable agriculture. More and more farmers are rethinking traditional tillage methods and introducing changes to implement more agroecological practices. Intensive farming brings with it negative consequences such as reduced soil fertility, loss of organic carbon, reduced biodiversity, and the excessive use of natural resources, which threatens sustainable agriculture. It is therefore important to place equal emphasis on both increasing crop productivity and focusing on, implementing, and using agri-environmental practices. Choosing the appropriate practice, such as working towards a no-till system or a more balanced strip-till approach, will lead to a positive impact on agriculture and the environment. The goal of this paper is to investigate the impact of agroecological practices, in particular strip-tillage, on environmental protection. The research methodology covers a literature review on the concept of strip-tillage technology, an analysis of the effects of the adoption of this technology in agriculture, and an assessment of the future prospects of strip-tillage for environmental protection.

Recently, the Publishing Complex - UNWE made available the interesting study of Dr. Ralitsa Veleva "Proactive Public Policies for Poverty Reduction". This monograph deserves attention mainly due to the still existing deficit in Bulgaria of complex analyses on the development and implementation of proactive public policies for poverty reduction.

The work of the young author breaks the tradition in the Bulgarian social space to discuss extensively and in priority "welfare", and its antipode "poverty" - only as incidental touches and by the way. And it is brazenly "present on the table" of a significant part of the population, which lives this ingrained scarcity as its own social drama. What is clearly needed is, first, a professional identification of the level and trends of poverty in the country, and second, the development and implementation of credible radical instruments for its definite mitigation and containment

The aim of the paper is to contribute to research on global initiatives for environmental, social, and ethical responsibility in business activities and their local embeddedness. Taking the example of the United Nations Global Compact and its local networks in Denmark, France, Germany, Japan, Spain, and the United States, the article discusses the relevance of dichotomous theoretical frameworks such as explicit/implicit CSR and its affinity with the VoC approach. Through a methodology of qualitative analysis of data collected from the websites of the various local networks, the article shows the way in which the dissemination of the UNGC by its local networks is contributing to the emergence of differentiated hybrids, reflecting the diversity of national institutional arrangements of CSR and that of the underlying models of capitalism defined by regulation theory. One of the paper’s main conclusions is that the uniform and globalising character of the UNGC has not erased the national differences present in the local UNGC networks.

Both the media and arms manufacturers play a key role in shaping public opinion on the conflict in Ukraine. Thus, it is necessary to question the extent to which the latter influences or even colludes with the former. In this context, the term media-military-industrial complex gives theoretical backing to the hypothesis that the media has a vested interest in promoting (not-so-)banal militarism for the benefit of the military-industrial complex. Favourable coverage of military operations and firms would likely be highly correlated to cross-sector corporate ties and/or sheer thirst for advertising revenues. Combining a network approach to the analysis of data on corporate structures with theoretically and empirically grounded arguments, this paper sketches a picture of the extent to which a military-industrial-media complex exists in Bulgaria and its reach.

The pursuit of sustainable development in Africa is becoming increasingly critical in light of the exacerbation of environmental vulnerabilities resulting from climate change. Despite contributing less than 4% of global greenhouse gas emissions, the continent faces significant challenges, including droughts and energy access issues that threaten economic stability. This article examines the interdependent relationship between sustainability efforts and economic growth in Africa, proposing that a transition towards renewable energy can stimulate industrial growth and generate employment opportunities. The future prospects of the green transition in Africa are outlined, focusing on the potential of gas resources and renewable energy to combine with economic development. A SWOT analysis is employed to facilitate a systematic evaluation of the benefits and challenges associated with the green transition, with particular attention paid to the potential barriers. The article presents some policy recommendations for integrating sustainability into national strategies and urges the global community to enhance support for Africa's green transition, with the objective of achieving a resilient future.

John Rogers Commons (1862-1945) was a prominent representative of American institutionalism in the early decades of the 20th century. As a political economist and sociologist, he developed an institutional approach, defining institutions as collective actions which take place within given norms such as law, habits, and customs. Additionally, he introduced the transaction as the smallest unit of interaction in economic theory. Commons' studies of the labour market, the role of law, and his social policy work in legislation made him one of the most influential proponents of old institutional economics.

A study was conducted regarding the factors and effects of the average rate of profit in Bulgaria. The main variables on which this paper focuses are introduced in the beginning – those being the average rate of profit, the average organic composition of capital, the average rate of surplus value, the growth rate of the labour force, and the growth rate of the GDP. The proposed hypotheses’ validity was analysed. The average rate of profit was found to have an upward trend, while a significant linear negative relationship was found between the average rate of profit and the average organic composition of capital; a statistically insignificant positive linear relationship was found between the growth rate of labour and the average rate of profit; a stronger yet not significant enough correlation exists between the labour force growth rate at a time  and the average rate of profit at time ; there is a significant positive linear relationship between the average rate of profit and the GDP growth rate; and a significant correlation was found between the average rate of profit and the average rate of surplus value.

The Schengen agreement further strengthens the implementation of the principles of free movement of goods, services and persons provided in the EU and beyond. This intergovernmental agreement offers a lot of challenges that need to be examined for building understanding of the complexity of consequences of a large magnitude. The aim of this study is to develop and apply a comprehensive methodology in order to evaluate the economic effects of a country`s accession to the Schengen area. The study explores different types of economic implications, including direct, potential, ecological and fiscal effects. Moreover, the universality of the methodology provides for its comprehensive and wide applicability under different context and scenarios of abolition of border control. The developed methodology has been applied in order to evaluate the economic impact on Bulgaria from the country`s accession to the Schengen area.

Seventeen years after Bulgaria's accession to the European Union is an appropriate period to assess the changes that have taken place in the civil sector and to highlight the current problems of its development. This is the research task of the study. In addition to the analytical part, a strategic framework and a model for supporting the development of CSOs have been developed. Despite positive changes, the main findings of the analysis are that there is a lag in the sustainability of the third sector: the territorial distribution of CSOs is highly uneven, and there is a lack of state policy for interaction with the sector. Two strategic alternatives are outlined. One is to maintain existing trends and adopt a position dealing with unimportant current and prospective issues; the other alternative has a purpose to concentrate on helping to solve important current societal problems and, to a greater extent, prospective ones.

There are intense ongoing debates about the importance and quality of agri-food governance, and these have not gone unnoticed in Bulgaria. There is no suitable Bulgarian translation for the word governance, and many inaccurate terms are used such as managing, management, leadership, directing, regulating, regime, etc. In order to accurately reveal the essence of this category and avoid misunderstandings with researchers in other fields, this article uses the term governance. It adapts the methodology of New Institutional Economics and offers a holistic framework for an adequate understanding of agri-food governance and for assessing its quality. Agri-food governance is defined as a complex system with five main components: (1) agrarian and related agents, (2) the means (rules, forms, and mechanisms) that govern agents' behavior, activities, and relationships, (3) processes and activities associated with decision-making, (4) a specific social order resulting from the governance process, and (5) the system’s performance results in relation to the realization of sustainable development goals. To assess the quality of agri-food governance, a multidimensional hierarchical system of principles, criteria, indicators, and reference values for good governance is suggested. The initial assessment of the quality of agri-food governance in Bulgaria, based on expert and statistical data, shows that it is at an average (European) level. In terms of sustainability, the quality is at a good level, while it is at a satisfactory level in terms of processes, means, and order. The Bulgarian agri-food governance strengths are in terms of equity and solidarity, in addition to a well-functioning public sector; its weaknesses are in stakeholder engagement and private sector efficiency.

The text proposes a study of Sylos-Labini’s interdisciplinary orientation and how this relates to the institutional approach. Sylos-Labini’s multi-disciplinary approach seems to stand between Old Institutional Economics and New Institutional Economics. He states that an interdisciplinary approach, in which economic theory is juxtaposed with history, sociology, anthropology, and empirical research, is realistic and does not entail any limitation on the production of scientific knowledge. Thus, Sylos-Labini seems to be more interested in the old institutionalist school and sociology than new institutional economics and the theory of firms and contracts. Therefore, this paper investigates whether Sylos-Labini’s multidisciplinary approach to economics can represent a possible bridge between Old Institutional Economics and New Institutional Economics.

Waste generation poses a significant challenge in today’s world, prompting ongoing efforts to find effective solutions. While different countries have made varying progress in addressing this issue, environmental protection and the enhancement of food product quality remain key drivers. Notably, the agricultural sector enjoys an advantage: a relatively small proportion of its waste is hazardous. In fact, most of the waste generated is both safe and recyclable. Proper management of processing procedures is crucial to unlock its potential for widespread utilization across diverse economic activities and in various forms. This study aims to track the trends and compare agricultural waste generation in Bulgaria with that of the other EU Member States. It spans the years 2016, 2018, and 2020, analysing waste data by type for each year. Using available Eurostat data, the authors have made their own calculations. The findings underscore the importance of addressing waste management promptly, emphasizing the need to limit and minimize waste generation within the European Union during the specified period.

The overall aim of this paper is to empirically evaluate the perception of SME managers or owners on business performance (BP) during the year 2023, compared to 2022. The research has determined the dependent variable – the evaluation of BP – while education (EDU), drafted business plan (DBP), experience in the field in which the business operates (EXP), managerial ability (YMS), new product development (NPD), and inadequate skill level of employment skills (ILES) are defined as independent variables. The sample during the realization of this research consists of 336 questionnaires. The data for the inquiry were collected between March and April 2023. Multinominal regression was applied as the econometric approach, and it was also used in some of the important tests for the model’s determination. The discoveries of this study reveal that education, experience in the field in which the business operates, and managerial skills have a statistically significant influence while other variables exhibit an insignificant influence on BP. With a view towards contribution and originality, our research differs essentially from earlier studies, both in the selection of variables and in the applied approach. Therefore, productive discussions will result between scholars, academics, and policy-making bodies.

Precision agriculture represents an innovative approach utilizing technologies and scientific methods to enhance the efficiency and sustainability of agricultural oper-ations and their application in modern agriculture. Various technological innovations are analyzed, including the use of sensors, GPS systems, remote sensing, and software solutions that aid in optimizing agricultural operations. The article discusses the chal-lenges of implementing precision agriculture, as well as future development opportuni-ties in the sector and the potential benefits for farmers, rural communities, and the en-vironment from implementing this approach. The importance of precision agriculture as an innovative strategy for addressing challenges and achieving sustainable develop-ment in agriculture is emphasized. The goal of this article is to assist agricultural pro-ducers, agricultural specialists, and decision-makers in the sector in making informed decisions and strategies for implementing precision agriculture in their practices. Im-plementing precision agriculture will lead to improved efficiency and sustainability by reducing the use of resources such as water, fertilizers, and pesticides, increasing the productivity of agricultural crops, and reducing the adverse environmental impacts of agriculture.

 Nearly 50 years ago, Mark Granovetter initiated a fundamental critique of economic theory. His critique was the starting point for the New Economic Sociology (NES). Particularly, he criticized the emerging theories of New Institutional Economics (NIE), focusing on the ideas of Oliver Williamson (1932–2020) who was one of the most prominent representatives of this school. In this paper we address this critique and Williamson’s response to it. Williamson argued from the perspective of transaction cost economics, while Granovetter focused on the social embeddedness of individuals. The impact of this debate on economics has resulted in an increased research interest in the role of institutions and social networks. However, both lines of thought did not bring economic and sociological theories together. NES established as a subdiscipline in Sociology. Its central concept of embeddedness continued to attract interest but proved to be of little empirical applicability. NIE, on the other hand, has become part of mainstream economics.

The current study seeks to establish the preferences of Bulgarians through exploring how passenger transport in Bulgaria developed from 2012 to 2022. On a theoretical level, the characteristics of this sector are described, such as types of passenger transport vehicles. The research interest is aimed at tracking the dynamics behind all the options for passenger carriage forming the supply of the transport market in Bulgaria: by rail, bus, air, water, and urban electric transport. To achieve this objective, the parameters of activity in the passenger transport segment are used as the main measures – number of passengers, passenger-kilometres and average distance travelled. During the studied period, passenger transport in Bulgaria developed at variable rates and was influenced by environmental factors. The mode of transport most affected by the pandemic in 2020–2021 was by air. A decrease in the total number of passengers and overall performance for 2022 compared to 2012 can be observed. This decline is due to a decrease in bus and rail transport indicators. The study has established that Bulgarians prefer traveling by bus to other public transport alternatives. Although the absolute number of vehicles has decreased in this segment, it has the largest relative share according to the indicators of transported passengers and performed work as part of the total transport activity in the country.

In a practical respect, attention is focused on modern solutions related to information and communication technologies, as well as some opportunities to attract more public transport passengers. The author also draws attention to some EU initiatives in the field of air and maritime transport concerning Union-wide energy policy.

 This study examines the pivotal role of Customer Relationship Management (CRM) in the realm of international business strategy. By analysing various definitions and models of CRM, it identifies how CRM strategies align with organisational goals across different market conditions and cultural landscapes. The paper synthesizes these findings to propose a comprehensive CRM approach that enhances customer satisfaction and organisational profitability while addressing the challenges of international business operations.

This paper aims to acknowledge and pay due respect to one of our leading researchers in the field of accounting thought in Bulgaria, having worked over the last fifty years – the end of the 20th century and the beginning of the 21st century. Emphasis is placed on the main scientific contributions of Prof. Trifonov, particularly his creative efforts – to synthesize theories; to overcome the one-sided justification of research questions; to continuously search for new methodological and philosophical foundations of accounting; to eschew the trivial interpretations; to continuously attempt to raise the bar in accounting to a higher theoretical level. The manuscript also distinguishes Prof. Trifonov as “a role model of scientific dignity” (to borrow from Prof. D.Sc. Mihail Dinev).

A new book by Yanis Varoufakis, Technofeudalism - What Killed Capitalism, has recently been published. Do you remember Varoufakis? In early 2015, at the height of the Greek debt crisis, the little-known (at the time) university lecturer was appointed finance minister and quickly became a star. He was certainly not the first to oppose the so-called Washington Consensus and neoliberalism in economics, but he was perhaps the most eloquent and the most extreme in his criticism, backed by a deep knowledge of the workings of the modern market economy. His time in power was less than half a year, but he will certainly be remembered for a long time. After him, Greece now has its sixth finance minister, but I am sure that even there few people know their names.

I allowed myself this extravagant title as I am still under the strong impression of one of his previous books, The Global Minotaur, in which Varoufakis examines economic history and crises, focusing on the role of the US in the post-World War II global economy. The author uses the myth of the Minotaur as a metaphor to explain the complex system of global financial flows that fuelled the US economy and contributed to the accumulation of global economic imbalances that ultimately led to the global financial crisis of 2007-2009.