Research of market development of intelligent transport systems in the world

Islamic finance has grown rapidly in the recent years particularly in the Middle East and the world. It receives a great attention of bankers and financial scholars due to its stability during financial shocks and crises. The paper uses empirical analysis to test the role of Islamic banking in enhancing the economic growth of United Arab Emirates (UAE). Gross Domestic Product (GDP), Gross formation (GF), and Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) are used as representatives for economic growth, while Islamic banks’ investments are used as a representative for Islamic financial sector in the UAE. The study uses time series techniques to test the link between the variables. In the current study, co-integration along with error correction models is utilized. All econometric work is done using Eviews. The findings reveal that the causal relationship between Islamic banks’ investments and economic growth of UAE is supply-leading direction. Furthermore, the findings depict that Islamic investments have contributed in increasing investments and in bringing FDI into the country in the long-term. The study also shows that there is two-way association between Islamic banks’ investments and FDI. It shows that FDI supports Islamic banking and Islamic banking brings FDI. The paper concludes that authorities of the UAE should devote more attention for this growing banking sector by facilitating regulations for establishing new Islamic banks and then creating a suitable environment for their growth and progress in the UAE.

The authors study the performance of mean-variance optimized (MVO) equity portfolios for retail investors in various markets in the U.S. and around the world. Actively managed equity mutual funds have relatively high fees and tend to underperform their benchmark. Index funds such as exchange traded funds still charge appreciable fees, and only deliver the performance of the benchmark. The authors find that MVO portfolios are relatively easy to manage by a retail investor, and that they tend to outperform their benchmark or, at worst, equal its performance, even after adjusting for risk. Moreover, they show that the performance of these funds is not particularly sensitive to the frequency at which they are rebalanced so that, in the limit, an investor might have to rebalance his/her portfolio only once a year. This last finding translates into very low trading costs, even for retail investors. Thus, the authors conclude that MVOs offer an easy, cheap alternative to invest in the world’s equity markets.

Development trends in management and organizational structures are considered one of the limitations of the ongoing transformation of the company architecture of enterprises in the Czech Republic. This study is based on the survey data of over 450 enterprises in different sizes and sector categories conducted in 2016–2019. Statistical dependence between the type of organizational structure and size of an enterprise is confirmed with a trend of transition to a department-based organizational structure at the expense of a division-based structure. A high degree of statistical dependence is found between the number of management levels and size of a company. However, a low level of statistical dependence is found between the number of management levels and the sector type. Dependence between management structure/size of an enterprise and its profitability is not confirmed. A critical strategic task for companies is acceleration of the transformation of the company architecture, including the organizational framework, and intensification of the innovation and digitalization based on a transfer of new knowledge into corporate practice. If enterprises accomplish this strategic task, they will generate higher value and they can be more profitable and sustainable. A transfer from classical management structures to departmental structures is demonstrated, which creates preconditions for transformation in process and project management. A new finding is an independent relationship between management structure/size of an enterprise and its profitability; and an opposite trend considering the number of management levels compared to the prediction, i.e., their decrease.