Management approach to motivation of white-collar employees in forest enterprises

Hitka, M., Lorincová, S., Gejdoš, M., Klarić, K., and Weberová, D. (2019). "Management approach to motivation of white-collar employees in forest enterprises," BioRes. 14(3), 5488-5505.

Abstract

Employee motivation is a prerequisite for the effective development of the potential of human resources. Therefore, motivation processes are important. The aim of the paper was to define the motivational priorities of white-collar employees in forest enterprises. Following the research results, cluster analysis statistical methods were used to define employee groups with similar motivations. The research was carried out in 11 forest enterprises with 195 total respondents. The results indicated that it is possible to create a unified motivation program with selected motivation factors for white-collar employees in forest enterprises. Defined groups had similar levels of motivation in individual motivation factors. Three significant motivation factors were determined: basic salary, working environment, and fair appraisal system. These motivation factors can be systematically implemented as a tool to improve the level of motivation of individual groups. It is important to consider that conditions and work environments change over time, so an effective motivation program must be updated regularly in order to produce sustained benefits.

Download PDF

Full Article

Management Approach to Motivation of White-collar Employees in Forest Enterprises

Miloš Hitka,^a,* Silvia Lorincová,^a Miloš Gejdoš,^a Kristina Klarić,^b and Dagmar Weberová ^c

Keywords: White-collar employee motivation; Forest enterprises; Motivation program; CLUA; ANOVA

Contact information: a: Technical University in Zvolen, T. G. Masaryka 24, 960 53 Zvolen, Slovakia;
b: University of Zagreb, Trg marsala Tita 14, HR-10000 Zagreb, Croatia; c: Tomas Bata University in Zlín, nám. T. G. Masaryka 5555, 760 01 Zlín, Czech Republic; * Corresponding author: hitka@tuzvo.sk

INTRODUCTION

Market economy and social changes have opened the space for entrepreneurial activities in the forestry industry; private entities have emerged, which are providing forestry services (Ankudo-Jankowska 2007; Caban et al. 2018). The forestry sector is considered to fulfill one of the most important social functions in the economy of the Slovak Republic (Forest Europe 2015; Balážová and Luptáková 2016; Hajdúchová et al. 2016; Kovaľová et al. 2018). The forestry sector accounts for 0.33% of Slovakia’s GDP. While 0.33% is a small number, the economic importance of the forest sector lies in its importance for related industries in the national economy (wood processing industry). It is also important in terms of fulfilling the ecosystem services of the forest and recreation services for the people. Currently, approximately 1,200 to 1,300 companies with revenues of EUR 220 to 240 million operate in this industry. Due to the historical development in this specific sector, men outnumber women by approximately 3:1. According to the legislation valid until the year 2010, women were not allowed to carry out certain types of forestry jobs. Most employees in the forestry sector have completed secondary education, and the number of university-educated employees is rising slightly (Paluš et al. 2011; Green Report 2017; Sujová and Kovalčík 2017).

Human potential and its management are an integral part of each company management system (Wright et al. 2001; Tokarčíková and Kucharčíková 2015; Andrews 2016; Olšovská et al.2016; Gottwald et al. 2017; Krizanova et al. 2018; Lizbetin 2018; Melo and González 2018; Zhu and Warner 2019). Since human employees are unique and have different strengths, the potential of all employees should be used wisely and developed in order to continue to create new value (Wright et al. 2001; Bajzikova et al. 2013; Poliačiková 2016; Vetráková et al.2016; Ferraro et al. 2018). Systematic evaluation and motivation as well as subsequent evaluation and motivation processes are a prerequisite for the efficient development of employee potential.

Human motivation is a very complex system in which mutual overlaps and combinations of individual motives occur. Motives are elements of personality that stimulate human activity to achieve a certain goal (Stone 2005; Artz 2008). Motives can be considered the “engine” of someone’s actions or a driving force of his/her personality expressing the psychological causes or the reasons for the behavior. Moreover, a certain psychological sense of his/her behaviour is affected by motivation (Krišták et al. 2014; Minárová 2015; Davydenko et al. 2017; Jeong and Choi 2017; Kucharčíková and Mičiak 2018; Vokoun et al. 2018). Needs as the source of hidden motives together with interests, values, and ideals relating to the structure of human motivation are the most powerful concepts of human behavior. This creates a certain hierarchy of human motives. Stronger motives (e.g. aspiration and ambition) appear only when those of little importance are established (Xu et al. 2017). Motivation is a dynamic process driven by personal and socio-psychological factors that interact with one another (Kanfer et al. 2012). It is a process that is responsive to individual intensity, direction, and ongoing efforts to achieve the goal (Robbins et al. 2007). It represents a permanent process of efficiency and effectiveness, which needs constant and systematic attention (Daud 2015; Mura et al. 2017). Through employee motivation, an enterprise can achieve a competitive advantage but also the sustainability of business processes due to higher productivity (Stone 2005; Aydin and Tiryaki 2018). As each company works primarily with people, their abilities and talents, the main objective of the whole human potential development system is to create the conditions for effectively fulfilling the enterprise’s business and working motivation of each employee. Job satisfaction can be achieved by motivating employees in a way that presupposes their systematic motivation and results in motivational processes (Lokar and Bajzikova 2008; Blašková and Hitka 2011).

In businesses terms, a motivational program deals with the issue of employee motivation. A motivation program’s aim is to optimize the utilization of the workforce in order to meet the company tasks and to satisfy and develop the personality of the employee (Robbins et al. 2007; Dewettinck and Remue 2011; Kanfer et al. 2012, Musová 2015). Moreover, conditions that encourage employee motivation in the workplace can be created using an optimal motivation program (Tansel and Gazioglu 2013; Daud 2015; Mura et al. 2017; Papp et al. 2018). Designing an effective motivation program can help the enterprise assume the areas with low efficiency in a given period or, for another reason, are significant for human activity. At the same time, attention must be given on the constant monitoring of their changes, because the set of motivation factors is not stable. Motivation factors can change due to age, knowledge, experience, education, environment, etc. (Nemec et al. 2017; Aydin and Tiryaki 2018).

Designing a motivation program should incorporate the knowledge and evaluation of all facts affecting employee performance and enterprise operations, e.g. information associated with technical, technological, and working conditions, as well as the nature of the work environment, and the workplace equipment. A motivation program should also consider the job satisfaction or dissatisfaction regarding the enterprise’s value orientation, attitude to work, colleagues, and superiors.

In order to make a meaningful impact on employee motivations, it is important to gather data associated with the social, demographic, and professional employee background, with the appraisal system of employees, system of social support in the enterprise, and human resource management (HRM) (Sánchez-Sellero et al. 2016; Seemann 2016; Ližbetinová 2017; Borisov et al. 2018; Brady and King 2018; Mészáros 2018).

White-collar employees in Slovak forest enterprises were investigated in this work. The economy of forest enterprises fully depends on white-collar employees. The motivations of white-collar employees can affect corporate motivations, the outsourcing jobs in the forest industry, and pricing and harvesting in the wood market. Almost 90% of the revenue in the forest industry is based on wood purchasing. Therefore, the system of motivation and controlling during timber harvesting is of great importance. White-collar employees are key employees in forest enterprises, which is why their motivation is very important. The forest industry in Slovakia is very concentrated. More than half of the forests are under the control of state-owned enterprises and are affected by political changes and lobbying. Since many of the forests in Slovakia are state-owned, the forest industry is placed in a unique position. A single enterprise is responsible for more than half of the market, making them a leader forest enterprises and market strategy. The enterprises were selected in three main regions in Slovakia: Western Slovakia (4 enterprises), Central Slovakia (3 enterprises + Directorate-General), and Eastern Slovakia (3 enterprises). The questionnaire was distributed to all white-collar employees in the selected enterprises. The survey response rate was 67% with cooperation from the Directorate-General. A system of motivation and control is well-developed in state-owned enterprises. In most non state-owned enterprises, there is not a system of motivation and control, as employees are motivated by the economic results of the enterprise or only by the basic salary they are paid. Town forests and forests managed by churches must participate in the financing of town budgets or various social events, so there is no money left over to be used as an incentive. In the case of forests managed by private owners, the employees must be paid dividends according to the economic results. For this reason, the system of motivation in forests managed by private owners, towns, or churches is developed only very rarely.

Therefore, the objective of this paper was to define whether there is a possibility to motivate white-collar employees in forest enterprises to perform better in a unified way or if various motivation programs must be designed and implemented.

EXPERIMENTAL

A questionnaire consisting of 30 closed questions was used to determine the level of motivation in the enterprise at the actual time (Hitka 2009). The questionnaire was divided into two parts. Socio-demographic and qualification characteristics of the employees were investigated in the first part. Basic data on respondents’ age, gender, seniority, completed education, and job position were gathered in this part. Results are presented in Table 1.

The second part of the questionnaire deals with individual motivation factors used to find out the characteristics of the work environment, working conditions, appraisal system and remuneration in the enterprise, personnel work in the company, social care system, and employee benefits as well as information about employee satisfaction or dissatisfaction, their value orientation, attitude to work, to colleagues, and to the enterprise. The motivation factors were arranged in alphabetical order in order not to affect the respondents. The employees were asked to assign one point of five points of importance from the Likert scale to each question.

Table 1. Demographic Variables

The questionnaires were evaluated using the Statistics 12.0 software program (Dell, Oklahoma City, OK, USA). Descriptive statistics were used to characterize basic sets. Subsequently, cluster analysis (CLUA), Ward’s method, and Euclidean distance were used to identify similarly motivated groups of employees (Triola 1989; Mason and Lind 1990). Applying CLUA resulted in favourable outcomes, especially where the studied set was physically fragmented into classes, and where objects tended to be grouped into natural clusters. This made it possible to reveal the structure of the studied set of objects and classify individual objects. The goal was to achieve a state where the objects within the clusters are as similar as possible while the objects from different clusters are the least similar.

In the next part, the clusters and their characteristic properties were profiled, and the distinguished groups by single-factor analysis of variance (ANOVA) were compared. Similarly motivated groups were defined using the CLUA. Following the analysis, the statistical significance of the differences was determined. The relation between the interval and the nominal variable was examined. The zero hypothesis on the compliance of the mean values of the various populations was tested by ANOVA, whereby the dispersion of the populations is supposed to be the same. No relation between the interval variable and the nominal variable was determined by the zero hypothesis. The significant F-statistic
(p < 0.05) indicates that the observed differences in the mean of sample groups are too large to be random, so they are statistically significant (Scheer and Sedmák 2007). The difference between the groups can also be dependent on the variables. Subsequently, the hypotheses were as follows:

WH1: It is assumed that there are significant differences in the motivation among specific groups of employees.

WH2: It is assumed that different types of motivation programs in order to motivate specific groups of employees must be used.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

Altogether, 195 respondents from 11 branch offices of forest enterprises and the Directorate-General of the Forests of the Slovak Republic, State Enterprise, participated in this research. White-collar employees were of different gender, age, and seniority (i.e. the length of time working for the enterprise).

When analyzing the importance of the level of employee motivation, it is apparent that individual motivation factors were very similar in the selected groups. The differences can be noticed in the average value of the motivation factors evaluated as the best by the third group (Fig. 1). The differences in the order of the motivation factors for selected employee groups with similar motivations are shown in Table 2.

Following the responses, three basic similarly motivated groups of employees were identified using the CLUA according to similarity of motivation factors (Fig. 2). Similar motivational-oriented groups of employees are separated by the red line.

Fig. 1. Average values of the required level of motivation for selected employee groups

Statistically significant differences between the ten most important motivation factors within the specific groups were defined using the single factor analysis. When significant differences were defined, the effect of motivation programs on employees was determined. Only three of the mentioned factors (basic salary, fair appraisal system, and work environment) were significantly different (Table 3).

Significant differences between the groups in relation to the motivation factors of basic salary, fair appraisal system, and work environment are shown in Table 4 and Figs. 3 through 5. For the motivation factor of basic salary, there were differences between the first and the third groups of white-collar employees. The results dealing with the motivation factor of a fair appraisal system were different in the first and third employee groups. For work environment, there were differences between the fist and the second group of white-collar employees and at the same time, between the first and the third employee groups. The results indicated that the first group had a larger statistical difference from the other groups, while the other two groups were more mutually similar.

Fig. 2. Tree diagram for 195 cases, Ward’s method, Euclidean distances

Table 2. Ranking the Importance of Motivation Factors of the Selected Employee Groups

Note: Identical motivation factors are in bold.

Table 3. F-level and P-level for the Motivation Factors of Basic Salary, Fair Appraisal System, and Work Environment

Note: Statistically significant motivation factors are in bold

Table 4. Statistically Significant Differences Between Groups in the Motivation Factors of Basic Salary, Fair Appraisal System, and Work Environment

Note: Statistically significant differences are in bold.

Fig. 3. Comparison analysis test – Basic salary at the confidence interval of 0.95

Fig. 4. Comparison analysis test – Fair appraisal system at the confidence interval of 0.95

Fig. 5. Comparison analysis test – Work environment at the confidence interval of 0.95

The remaining seven motivation factors (communication in the workplace, job security, good work team, supervisor’s approach, fringe benefits, atmosphere in the workplace, and relation to the environment) were similar in terms of employees’ needs. While these motivation factors had various average values, they were not statistically different (Table 5).

Continuing employee motivation as well as its evaluation and evaluation processes are prerequisites for the effective development of the unlimited potential of human resources. The importance of human resources is strategic. The results confirmed hypothesis H1 and rejected hypothesis H2. As work conditions and employee requirements change, the motivation program must be updated regularly. Professionals in the field of HRM conclude that technology can be bought, a new company management system can be implemented, and financial resources can be borrowed, but the most essential asset determining a company’s success is a high-quality workforce (Ahmad et al. 2012).

Table 5. F-level and P-level for Insignificant Motivation Factors

Successful entrepreneurs should focus their attention on increased efficiency and sustainable economic growth (Bartuska et al. 2016; Nývlt 2016; Hanzl et al. 2017; Gope et al. 2017; Xu et al. 2017; Ružinská et al. 2018) because of a constantly changing business environment, technological progress, and economic globalization (Faletar et al. 2016; Papula et al. 2018). Appropriate enterprise investment into employees or HRM is an important part of business development (Jackson et al. 2014; Žuľová et al. 2018).

Employee motivation can work effectively only if it is based on a proper understanding of motivation factors and their differentiation in relation to certain types of employees. Different groups of employees are motivated in different ways, so it is necessary to estimate and apply various types of motivation factors correctly. In order to impact employees in an effective way, the motivation process must reflect employees’ needs, their behavior, and their performance in a positive way. Therefore, it is necessary to develop a comprehensive motivation program that combines the demands of the company and its employees. The performance of each employee results from the unique set of motivation factors. Some motivation factors are responded to in a positive way, while others are met with a negative response and resistance from employees. The optimal situation occurs when the employee is satisfied in their work environment and they are motivated in the long run (Huang 2010; Nadányiová 2014; Igaz et al. 2015; Dolobac et al. 2016; Gosselin et al. 2017).

The CLUA was able to determine the motivation types in the enterprise (groups of people with similar motivation profiles), the similarities and differences in these motivation types, and the typical features of each type. Following the clusters, the similarity in the respondents’ motivation can be used to implement motivation factors in motivation programs for similarly motivated employee groups. The CLUA results showed that the needs of the employees are not the same. Similar results were observed in the analysis of motivation carried out in wood processing enterprises (Hitka et al. 2017), where individual groups of employees showed statistically significant differences in their motivation needs.

The research into the motivation structure of employees’ motives is within the scope of the theory of employee motivation. Knowing what motivates employees is one of the first steps in designing a motivation program for an organization. The ladder of values is different for each person. The existence of numerous factors that motivate employees to perform better are highlighted in previous research studies (Srivastava and Kakkar 2008; Almobaireek and Manolova 2013; Fakhrutdinova et al. 2013; Stopka et al. 2014; Damij et al. 2015; Kamasheva et al. 2015; Myint et al. 2016; Kampf et al. 2017). Salary is one of the most significant motivation factors for employees (Androniceanu 2011). Benefits, rewards, and promotions are used in conjunction with salaries to motivate employees (Dobre 2013). Employees can be motivated not only by offering them financial rewards, but also by providing non-monetary incentives or by changing the type of work they perform (Sturman and Ford 2011). An increased number of paid vacation days and more frequent company events are among the most frequently used non-monetary incentives (Stachová et al. 2018). According to Sherif et al. (2014), employees can also be motivated by a well-designed system of education or training. Setting demanding but achievable goals is considered a key motivation factor that leads to higher performance (Sturman and Ford 2011). Research studies have indicated that public sector employees exhibited weaker intrinsic employee motivation compared to employees working in the private sector. (Buelens and Van den Broeck 2007). One explanation for this is that public sector employees are frustrated and rarely see the results of their work (Re´em 2011). According to Urbancová and Hudáková (2015), public sector employees are motivated especially by the workload, self-development, recognition, autonomy, interesting work, and the opportunity to learn something new.

There are no universal guidelines to motivate all employees. In general, managers assume that employees only want money (Stachová et al. 2018). What motivates employees depends on economic situation. In times of economic crisis employees are most concerned about psychological circumstances, whereas in times of economic recovery, employees consider social needs to be of more importance (Faletar et al. 2016). They are often surprised that other motivation factors may be more powerful under certain circumstances. Employee motivation can work effectively only if it is based on adequate knowledge and understanding of motivation factors and their differentiation in relation to certain types of employees. Incorrectly designed and applied motivation programs usually have a negative impact on employees and do not motivate them to maximize their performance. Therefore, a reasonably differentiated motivation program based not only on finances can be effective. With today’s increasing demands and decreasing technology costs, employees who are talented, capable, responsible, disciplined, creative, and motivated can provide a real competitive advantage for a company (Kubasáková et al. 2014; Podmanický and Nývlt 2015; Mészáros 2018; Poór et al. 2018; Kohnová et al.2019; Stachová et al. 2019).

CONCLUSIONS

A study of the importance of the level of employee motivation revealed that the contributions of individual motivation factors to overall motivation was very similar in the selected groups.
Differences can be seen in the average values of the motivation factors. Only three motivation factors (basic salary, fair appraisal system, and work environment) were statistically significantly different between the groups.
A unified motivation program for employees consisting of the highest valued motivation factors such as communication in the workplace, job security, a good work team, supervisor’s approach, fringe benefits, atmosphere in the workplace, and relation to the environment can be created for the employees.
Other factors, such as basic salary, fair appraisal system, and work environment are statistically significantly different, so they must be applied appropriately, especially in the case of selected specified employee groups.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

This research was supported by APVV-16-0297, Updating of anthropometric database of Slovak population, VEGA No. 1/0024/17, Computational model of motivation, and VEGA No. 1/0031/18, Optimization of technological and work processes and risk assessment in the production of forest biomass for energy purposes.

REFERENCES CITED

Ahmad, M. B., Wasay, E., and Malik, S. U. (2012). “Impact of employee motivation on customer satisfaction: Study of airline industry in Pakistan,” Interdisciplinary Journal of Contemporary Research in Business 4(6), 531-539.

Almobaireek, W. N., and Manolova, T. S. (2013). “Entrepreneurial motivations among female university youth in Saudi Arabia,” Journal of Business Economics and Management14(Supplement 1), S56-S75. DOI: 10.3846/16111699.2012.711364

Andrews, C. (2016). “Integrating public service motivation and self-determination theory: A framework,” International Journal of Public Sector Management 29(3), 238-254. DOI: 10.1108/IJPSM-10-2015-0176

Androniceanu, A. (2011). “Motivation of the human resources for a sustainable organizational development,” Economia. Seria Management 14(2), 425-438.

Ankudo-Jankowska, A. (2007). “Fundamental problems of evaluation of management effectiveness in state forests?” in: International Conference on Quo Vadis, Forestry, Sekocin Stary, Poland, pp. 316-327.

Artz, B. (2008). “The role of firm size and performance pay in determining employee job satisfaction brief: Firm size, performance pay, and job satisfaction,” Labour 22(2), 315-343. DOI: 10.1111/j.1467-9914.2007.00398.x

Aydin, A., and Tiryaki, S. (2018). “Impact of performance appraisal on employee motivation and productivity in Turkish forest products industry: A structural equation modeling analysis,” Drvna Industrija 69(2), 101-111. DOI: 10.5552/drind.2018.1710

Bajzikova, L., Sajgalikova, H., Wojcak, E., and Polakova, M. (2013). “Are flexible work arrangements attractive enough for knowledge-intensive businesses?” Procedia Social and Behavioral Sciences 99, 771-783. DOI: 10.1016/j.sbspro.2013.10.549

Balážová, E., and Luptáková, J. (2016). “Application of the economic value added index in the performance evaluation of forest enterprise,” Journal of Forest Science 62(5), 191-197. DOI: 10.17221/48/2015-JFS

Bartuska, L., Hanzl, J., and Lizbetinova, L. (2016). “Possibilities of using the data for planning the cycling infrastructure,” Procedia Engineering 161, 282-289. DOI: 10.1016/j.proeng.2016.08.555

Blašková, M., and Hitka, M. (2011). Model Riadenia Pracovnej Motivácie v Priemyselných Podnikoch, Technická univerzita vo Zvolene, Zvolen, Slovakia.

Borisov, A., Narozhnaia, D., Tarando, E., Vorontsov, A., Pruel, N., and Nikiforova, O. (2018). “Destructive motivation of personnel: A case study of Russian commercial companies,” Entrepreneurship and Sustainability Issues 6(1), 253-267. DOI: 10.9770/jesi.2018.6.1(16)

Brady, P. Q., and King, W. R. (2018). “Brass satisfaction: Identifying the personal and work-related factors associated with job satisfaction among police chiefs,” Police Quarterly 21(2), 250-277. DOI: 10.1177/1098611118759475

Buelens, M., and Van den Broeck, H. (2007). “An analysis of differences in work motivation between public and private sector organizations,” Public Administration Review 67(1), 65-74.

Caban, J., Ignaciuk, P., Stopka, O., and Zarajczyk, J. (2018). “Aviation market in Poland in 2000-2017,” in: 19^th International Scientific Conference – LOGI 2018, Ceske Budejovice, Czech Republic.

Damij, N., Levnajić, Z., Skrt, V. R., and Suklan, J. (2015). “What motivates us for work? Intricate web of factors beyond money and prestige,” PLOS ONE 10(7), 15-26. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0132641

Daud, N. (2015). “Determinants of job satisfaction: How satisfied are the new generation employees in Malaysia?” in: 3^rd Global Conference on Business and Social Science-2015, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Davydenko, V., Kaźmierczyk, J., Romashkina, G. F., Żelichowska, E. (2017). “Diversity of employee incentives from the perspective of banks employees in Poland – Empirical approach,” Entrepreneurship and Sustainability Issues 5(1), 116-126. DOI: 10.9770/jesi.2017.5.1(9)

Dewettinck, K., and Remue, J. (2011). “Contextualizing HRM in comparative research: The role of the Cranet network,” Human Resource Management Review 21(1), 37-49. DOI: 10.1016/j.hrmr.2010.09.010

Dobre, O.-I. (2013). “Employee motivation and organizational performance,” Review of Applied Socio-Economic Research 5(1), 53-60.

Dolobac, M., Mura, L., and Svec, M. (2016). “Personnel management and the new system of dual education in Slovak Republic,” Current Problems of Economics 181(7), 282-289.

Fakhrutdinova, E., Kolesnikova, J., Yurieva, O., and Kamasheva, A. (2013). “The commercialization of intangible assets in the information society,” World Applied Sciences Journal27(13), 82-86. DOI: 10.5829/idosi.wasj.2013.27.emf.17

Faletar, J., Jelačić, D., Sedliačiková, M., Jazbec, A., and Hajdúchová, I. (2016). “Motivating employees in a wood processing company before and after restructuring,” BioResources 11(1), 2504-2515. DOI: 10.15376/biores.11.1.2504-2515

Ferraro, T., Moreira, J. M., Dos Santos, N. R., Pais, L., and Sedmak, C. (2018). “Decent work, work motivation and psychological capital: An empirical research,” Work 60(2), 339-354. DOI: 10.3233/WOR-182732

Forest Europe (2015). “State of Europe’s Forests 2015,” (www.foresteurope.org), Accessed 10 Jan 2019.

Gope, S., Elia, G., and Passiante, G. (2017). “The effect of HRM practices on knowledge management capacity: A comparative study in Indian IT Industry,” Journal of Knowledge Management 22(3), 649-677. DOI: 10.1108/JKM-10-2017-0453

Gosselin, A., Blanchet, P., Lehoux, N., and Cimon, Y. (2017). “Main motivations and barriers for using wood in multi-story and non-residential construction projects,” BioResources 12(1), 546-570. DOI: 10.15376/biores.12.1.546-570

Gottwald, D., Svadlenka, L., Lejsková, P., and Pavlisova, H. (2017). “Human capital as a tool for predicting development of transport and communications sector: The Czech Republic perspective,” Communications 19(4), 50-56.

Green Report (2017). Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development of the Slovak Forest, National Forest Center, Zvolen, Slovakia.

Hajdúchová, I., Sedliačková, M., Halaj, D., Krištofík, P., Musa, H., and Viszlai, I. (2016). “The Slovakian forest-based sector in the context of globalization,” BioResources 11(2), 4808-4820. DOI: 10.15376/biores.11.2.4808-4820

Hanzl, J., Brodský, J., Mocková, D., and Kumpošt, P. (2017). “Implementation of a theoretical model for the calculation of slow vehicle travel times on alternative routes,” in: 2017 Smart City Symposium Prague, Prague, Czech Republic.

Hitka, M. (2009). Model Analýzy Motivácie Zamestnancov Výrobných Podnikov (Model of analysis of motivation of employees of manufacturing enterprises), Technická univerzita vo Zvolene, Zvolen, Slovakia.

Hitka, M., Lorincová, S., Ližbetinová, L., Bartáková, G. P., and Merková, M. (2017). “Cluster analysis used as the strategic advantage of human resource management in small and medium-sized enterprises in the wood-processing industry,” BioResources 12(4), 7884-7897. DOI: 10.15376/biores.12.4.7884-7897

Huang, W.-H. D., Han, S.-H., Park, U.-Y., and Seo, J. J. (2010). “Managing employees’ motivation, cognition, and performance in virtual workplaces: The blueprint of a game-based adaptive performance platform (GAPP),” Advances in Developing Human Resources 12(6), 700-714. DOI: 10.1177/1523422310394794

Igaz, R., Ruziak, I., Kristak, L., Reh, R., Izdinsky, J., and Siagiova, P. (2015). “Optimization of pressing parameters of crosswise bonded timber formwork sheets,” Acta Facultatis Xylologiae Zvolen 57(1), 83-88.

Jackson, S. E., Schuler, R. S., and Jiang, K. (2014). “An aspirational framework for strategic human resource management,” The Academy of Management Annals 8(1), 1-56. DOI: 10.5465/19416520.2014.872335

Jeong, J., and Choi, M. (2017). “The expected job satisfaction affecting entrepreneurial intention as career choice in the cultural and artistic industry,” Sustainability 9(10). DOI: 10.3390/su9101689

Kamasheva, A. V., Valeev, E. R., Yagudin, R. K. H., and Maksimova, K. R. (2015). “Usage of gamification theory for increase motivation of employees,” Mediterranean Journal of Social Sciences 6(1), 77-80. DOI: 10.5901/mjss.2015.v6n1s3p77

Kampf, R., Ližbetinová, L., and Tišlerová, K. (2017). “Management of customer service in terms of logistics information systems,” Open Engineering 7(1), 26-30. DOI: 10.1515/eng-2017-0006

Kanfer, R., Chen, G., and Pritchard, R. D. (2012). Work Motivation: Past, Present and Future, Routledge, New York, NY, USA.

Kohnová, L., Papula, J., and Salajová, N. (2019). “Internal factors supporting business and technological transformation in the context of industry 4.0,” Business: Theory and Practice 20, 137-245. DOI: 10.3846/btp.2019.13

Kovaľová, M., Hvolková, L., Klement, L., and Klementová, V. (2018). “Innovation strategies in the Slovak enterprises,” Acta Oeconomica Universitatis Selye 7(1), 79-89.

Krišták, L., Nemec, M., and Danihelová, Z. (2014). “Interactive methods of teaching physics at technical universities,” Informatics in Education 13(1), 51-71.

Krizanova, A., Gajanova, L., and Nadanyiova, M. (2018). “Design of a CRM level and performance measurement model,” Sustainability 10(7). DOI: 10.3390/su10072567

Kubasáková, I., Kampf, R., and Stopka, O. (2014). “Logistics information and communication technology,” Communications 16(2), 9-13.

Kucharčíková, A., and Mičiak, M. (2018). “Human capital management in transport enterprises with the acceptance of sustainable development in the Slovak Republic,” Sustainability10(7). DOI: 10.3390/su10072530

Lizbetin, J. (2018). “Decision-making processes in introducing RFID technology in manufacturing company,” Naše More 65(4), 289-292. DOI: 10.17818/NM/2018/4SI.23

Ližbetinová, L. (2017). “Clusters of Czech consumers with focus on domestic brands,” in: 29^th International Business Information Management Association Conference – Education Excellence and Innovation Management through Vision 2020: From Regional Development Sustainability to Global Economic Growth, Vienna, Austria, pp. 1703-1718.

Lokar, A., and Bajzikova, L. (2008). “FDI contribution to transition development: Slovakia versus Slovenia,” Transition Studies Review 15(2), 251-264. DOI: 10.1007/s11300-008-0002-9

Mason, R. D., and Lind, D. A. (1990). Statistical Techniques in Business and Economics, Irwin, Boston, MA, USA.

Melo, N. A. P., and González, I. B. (2018). “El clima organizacional en el sector público y empresarial desde la percepción de su capital humano (The organizational climate in the public and business sector from the perception of its human capital),” Espacios 39(13).

Mészáros, M. (2018). “’Employing’ of self-employed persons,” Central European Journal of Labour Law and Personnel Management 1(1), 46-67. DOI: 10.33382/cejllpm.2018.01.04

Minárová, M. (2015). “Managers in SMEs and their emotional abilities,” Acta Oeconomica Universitatis Selye 4(1), 83-92.

Mura, L., Havierniková, K., and Machová, R. (2017). “Empirical results of entrepreneurs’ network: Case study of Slovakia,” Serbian Journal of Management 12(1), 121-131. DOI: 10.5937/sjm12-10418

Mura, L., Ključnikov, A., Tvaronavičienė, M., and Androniceanu, A. (2017). “Development trends in human resource management in small and medium enterprises in the Visegrad Group,” Acta Polytechnica Hungarica 14(7), 105-122. DOI: 10.12700/APH.14.7.2017.7.7

Musová, Z. (2015). “Responsible behavior of businesses and its impact on consumer behavior,” Acta Oeconomica Universitatis Selye 4(2), 138-148.

Myint, S. S., Leamprecha, N., Pooncharoen, N., and Rurkwararuk, W. (2016). “An analysis of employee satisfaction of private banks in Myanmar,” International Business Management10(2), 101-114. DOI: 10.3923/ibm.2016.101.114

Nadányiová, M. (2014). “The customers satisfaction with services Railway company Cargo Slovakia as a factor a competitiveness,” in: 18^th International Conference Transport Means 2014, Kaunas, Lithuania, pp. 120-124.

Nemec, M., Krišťák, L., Hockicko, P., Danihelová, Z., and Velmovská, K. (2017). “Application of innovative P&E method at technical universities in Slovakia,” Eurasia Journal of Mathematics Science and Technology Education 13(6), 2329-2349. DOI: 10.12973/eurasia.2017.01228aa

Nývlt, V. (2016). “Life cycle costing in BIM management,” in: CESB16 – Central Europe towards Sustainable Building 2016, Prague, Czech Republic, pp. 1438-1444.

Olšovská, A., Mura, L., and Švec, M. (2016). “Personnel management in Slovakia: An explanation of the latent issues,” Polish Journal of Management Studies 13(2), 110-120. DOI: 10.17512/pjms.2016.13.2.11

Paluš, H., Kaputa, V., Parobek, J., Šupín, M., Halaj, D., Šulek, R., and Fodrek, L. (2011). Trh s lesníckymi službami (The market for forestry services), Technická univerzita vo Zvolene, Zvolen, Slovakia.

Papp, I. C., Varga, E., Schwarczová L., and Hajós, L. (2018). “Public work in an international and Hungarian context,” Central European Journal of Labour Law and Personnel Management 1(1), 6-16. DOI: 10.33382/cejllpm.2018.01.01

Papula, J., Kohnová, L., and Papulová, Z. (2018). “Impact of national culture on innovation activities of companies: A case of Germany, Austria, Switzerland and the Czech Republic,” Economic Annals-XXI 169(1-2), 26-30. DOI: 10.21003/ea.V169-05

Podmanický, P., and Nývlt, V. (2015). “BIM Technology as an inovation tool in the design of building structures in the Czech Republic,” in: 15^th International Multidisciplinary Scientific GeoConference, SGEM, pp. 337-384.

Poliačiková, E. (2016). “Category management as an effective instrument of relationship management,” Acta Oeconomica Universitatis Selye 5(1), 119-127.

Poór, J., Engle, A. D., Blštáková, J., and Joniaková, Z. (2018). Internationalisation of Human Resource Management: Focus on Central and Eastern Europe, Nova Science Publishers, New York, USA.

Re´em, Y. (2011). “Motivating public sector employees,” Heitie School of Government – Working Papers 60, 1-59.

Robbins, S. P., Odendaal, A., and Roodt, G. (2007). Organizational Behaviour: Global and Southern African Perspectives, Pearson Education, Cape Town, South Africa.

Ružinská, E., Polanecký, L., Kučerka, D., and Ručková, G. (2018). “Product and technological innovation – New fibrous wood biocomposites,” in: 31^st International Business Information Management Association Conference Innovation Management and Education Excellence through Vision 2020, Milan, Italy, pp. 5735-5739.

Sánchez-Sellero, M. C., and Sánchez-Sellero, P. (2016). “Determinants of job satisfaction in Spain before and during the economic crisis of 2008,” Intangible Capital 12(5), 1192-1220. DOI: 10.3926/ic.844

Scheer, L., and Sedmák, R. (2007). Biometria, Technická univerzita vo Zvolene, Zvolen, Slovakia.

Seemann, P. (2016). “Upcoming global method of team coaching in increasing employee motivation,” in: 16^th International Scientific Conference Proceedings Globalization and Its Socio-Economic Consequences, Rajecke Teplice, Slovakia, pp. 1964-1971.

Sherif, M. Z. M., Nimran, U., and Prasetya, A. (2014). “The role of motivation in human resources management: The importance of motivation factors among future business professionals in Libya,” IOSR Journal of Business and Management 16(8), 27-36. DOI: 10.9790/487X-16812736

Srivastava, S. K., and Kakkar, D. N. (2008). “Estimation of motivation using entropy,” Journal of Business Economics and Management 9(1), 53-56. DOI: 10.3846/1611-1699.2008.9.53-56

Stachová, K., Stacho, Z., Blštáková, J., Hlatká, M., and Kapustina, L. M. (2018). “Motivation of employees for creativity as a form of support to manage innovation processes in transportation-logistics companies,” Naše More 65(4), 180-186. DOI: 10.17818/NM/2018/4SI.3

Stachová, K., Papula, J., Stacho, Z., and Kohnová, L. (2019). “External partnerships in employee education and development as the key to facing industry 4.0 challenges,” Sustainability11(12), 345. DOI: 10.3390/su11020345

Stone, R. J. (2005). Human Resource Management, John Wiley & Sons, Milton, Australia.

Stopka, O., Kampf, R., Kolář, J., and Kubasáková, I. (2014). “Identification of appropriate methods for allocation tasks of logistics objects in a certain area,” Naše More 61(1-2), 1-6.

Sturman, M. C., and Ford R. (2011). Motivating Your Staff to Provide Outstanding Service, Wiley, Hoboken, NJ, USA.

Sujová, K., and Kovalčík, M. (2017). “Development of the business sector in Slovakian forestry – Business companies,” in: Conference Aktuálne Otázky Ekonomiky A Politiky Lesného Hospodárstva Slovenskej Republiky, Bratislava, Slovakia, pp. 17-22.

Tansel, A., and Gazioglu, S. (2013). “Management-employee relations, firm size and job satisfaction,” International Journal of Manpower 35(8), 1260-1275. DOI: 10.2139/ssrn.2233483

Tokarčíková, E., and Kucharčíková, A. (2015). “Diffusion of innovation: The case of the Slovak mobile communication market,” International Journal of Innovation and Learning 17(3), 359-370. DOI: 10.1504/IJIL.2015.068467

Triola, M. F. (1989). Elementary Statistics, Addison-Wesley, Reading, PA, USA.

Urbancová, H., and Hudáková, M. (2015). “Employee development in small and medium enterprises in the light of demographic evolution,” Acta Universitatis Agriculturae et Silviculturae Mendelianae Brunensis 63(3), 1043-1050. DOI: 10.11118/actaun201563031043

Vetráková, M., Ďurian, J., Seková, M., and Kaščáková, A. (2016). “Employee retention and development in pulp and paper companies,” BioResources 11(4), 9231-9243. DOI: 10.15376/biores.11.4.9231-9243

Vokoun, M., Caha, Z., Straková, J., Stellner, F., and Váchal, J. (2018). “The strategic importance of human resources management and the roles of human capital investment and education,” Scientific Papers of the University of Pardubice 42(1), 258-268.

Wright, P. M., Dunford, B. B., and Snell, S. A. (2001). “Human resources and the resource based view of the firm,” Journal of Management 27(6), 701-721. DOI: 10.1177/014920630102700607

Xu, Y., Wang, Y., Tao, X., and Ližbetinová, L. (2017). “Evidence of Chinese income dynamics and its effects on income scaling law,” Physica A: Statistical Mechanics and its Applications487, 143-152. DOI: 10.1016/j.physa.2017.06.020

Zhu, C. J., and Warner, M. (2019) “The emergence of human resource management in China: Convergence, divergence and contextualization,” Human Resource Management Review29(1), 87-97. DOI: 10.1016/j.hrmr.2017.11.002

Žuľová, J., Švec, M., and Madleňák, A. (2018). “Personality aspects of the employee and their exploration from the GDPR perspective,” Central European Journal of Labour Law and Personnel Management 1(1), 68-77. DOI: 10.33382/cejllpm.2018.01.05

Article submitted: April 1, 2019; Peer review completed: May 14, 2019; Revised version received and accepted: May 17, 2019; Published: May 29, 2019.

DOI: 10.15376/biores.14.3.5488-5505