Passenger vehicle brand meaning among Generations X and Y in South Africa

At the beginning of 2020, the world faced the most frightening threat to the population’s health – COVID-19 pandemic. For this reason, the international institutions, governments of countries and various organizations are forced to use unprecedented restrictive measures in many spheres of activity. As a result, the economies of the countries all over the world are significantly affected and are on the verge of crisis. This paper presents examples of economic consequences of COVID-19 pandemic for different countries of the world and analyzes still few scientific works, which study the influence of pandemic on their economies. The article generalizes the legislative and anti-crisis measures of the Ukrainian Government, as well as the National Bank of Ukraine and other state authorities. It is evidenced that at the end of 2019 and the beginning of 2020, Ukraine witnessed a significant decrease in GDP growth rate, reduction of industrial production and electricity production. The financial indicators also underwent significant losses, particularly the unemployment rate increased as thousands and thousands of labor migrants have returned to Ukraine from European and other countries. The article proves the inconsistency and unprofessionalism of such restrictive and regulatory measures. Finally, the necessity is substantiated to combine the methods of market economy and state regulation. The compulsory steps are offered, which would minimize the losses of the state and its population during this economic crisis.

This study investigates the direct and indirect effects of financial capability, financial advice, financial anxiety, and the use of an electronic payment system (EPS) on financial satisfaction. In the current era of digitalization and financial innovations, it seems quite unlikely that an individual remains unaffected by its use. The research was conducted in northern India on individual level using a partial least square structural equation modeling statistical technique to analyze responses collected from a close-ended questionnaire using a 5-point Likert scale. The results show that financial capability, financial advice, financial anxiety, and EPS usage have a direct positive effect on an individual’s financial satisfaction. EPS usage plays a significant mediating role, as all the financial constructs depict a positive effect on financial satisfaction via EPS use. These findings contribute to the literature by offering an understanding of the determinants of financial satisfaction in the context of a low-income developing country, as well as the vital role of using EPS in an individual’s financial satisfaction in today’s digitally driven era. The results of this study could be a useful factor for policymakers and digital service providers for implementation and control.

Acknowledgement
“This paper was supported by Internal Grant Agency of FaME TBU No. IGA/FaME/2019/002”

The study aims to explore the role of total quality management (TQM) in enhancing the service quality of the private healthcare sector in the Northern Area of West Bank Palestine. The study involves a questionnaire-based survey, private hospitals, and healthcare centers selected in North West Bank. The administrative employees are the population of the study, 200 employees were selected via stratified sampling method. By using the Structural Equation Modeling (SEM), the findings show that all TQM factors are positively and directly related to each other in the private healthcare sector. There is a positive and direct relationship between four TQM factors (customer satisfaction, employee involvement, continual improvements, and top management commitment) and service quality, while there is a negative direct relationship between processes and service quality. TQM factors (customer satisfaction, employee involvement, continual improvements, processes, and top management commitment) explained 95% of the variance in healthcare service quality (R² = 0.950, P < 0.05). Continual improvements is the main pillar in TQM application in healthcare sector, and it is highly associated with the private healthcare processes (R² = 0.907, P < 0.01), while top management commitment is the most significant factor in improving the service quality. Full understanding and commitment by the managers across all levels and activating the effective communication between employees at all levels in the organization are the key factors of a successful TQM implementation; it helps in strengthening the teamwork efficiency. Top management is required to avoid the monotonic managerial practices, especially in the organizational processes, as it has a negative impact on the private healthcare service quality.