Employers’ Perceptions of Business and Economics Graduates’ Competencies in Croatia

Štambuk Ana (), Karanović Goran () and Host Alen ()
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Štambuk Ana: University of Rijeka, Faculty of Economics and Business, Rijeka, Croatia
Karanović Goran: University of Rijeka, Faculty of Tourism and Hospitality Management, Rijeka, Croatia
Host Alen: University of Rijeka, Faculty of Economics and Business, Rijeka, Croatia

Business Systems Research, 2019, vol. 10, issue 2, 108-123

Abstract: Background: The issue of graduates’ competencies is not a new one, but was brought back into the spotlight after the 2007-2008 Global Financial Crisis and the ensuing disturbances in the labour market. These disturbances were manifested through an increased unemployment rate, with a significant share of highly educated people.Objectives: This paper provides an insight into employers’ assessment of the importance and sufficiency of the competencies acquired by business and economics university bachelor graduates in Croatia.Methods/Approach: The methodology applied in this research includes the importance-performance analysis (IPA) that provides a two-dimensional importance-satisfaction grid. Data for the IPA analysis were collected by the structured questionnaire.Results: Results indicated that employers are satisfied with specific competencies (business and economic) and that the emphasis of business and economics higher education institutions (HEI) should be placed on generic competencies.Conclusions: Findings imply that mobility of highly educated people could be caused by the level and quality of specific competencies of bachelors with a degree from Croatian economics higher education institutions. Additionally, the conclusion of the conducted study indicates a need for implementation of student-oriented teaching methods, the introduction of obligatory internship, and introduction of courses oriented towards the development of generic competencies.

Keywords: competencies; importance-performance analysis - IPA; business and economics; demographics and finance; Croatia (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: A22 G01 I21 J11 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:bit:bsrysr:v:10:y:2019:i:2:p:108-123:n:8

DOI: 10.2478/bsrj-2019-021

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