187
Archived Theses
0
DOIs Assigned
0%
DOI Rate
Discipline
İşletmelere sağlanan finansal destekler ve devlet teşvikleri: BİST şirketleri üzerine bir araştırma
Değişen dünya Değişen dünya ekonomisi, işletmeleri ürün ve hizmetlerini piyasa koşullarına uygun biçimde sunmaya zorlamakta, bu da rekabet politikalarını ve ekonomik yapılarını etkilemektedir. Kâr amacıyla kurulan işletmeler, beklenmedik durumlar karşısında finansal zorluklarla karşılaşabilmektedir. Bu zorlukları aşmak için devlet destekleri ve teşvikleri gibi finansal yardımlar büyük önem taşımaktadır. Bu tür destekler, işletmelere faaliyetlerini düzenleme ve kârlılıklarını artırma imkânı sunarken, ekonomiye ve toplumsal refaha da katkı sağlar. Devlet destekleri sayesinde işletmeler, ürün ve hizmetlerini tüketici taleplerine göre uyarlama ve yaşam standartlarının yükselmesine katkıda bulunma fırsatı elde eder. Bu bağlamda, çalışmada devlet destekleri ve teşviklerin işletmelerin kârlılığı, üretim kapasitesi ve süreç yönetimi üzerindeki etkileri analiz edilmiştir. Araştırmanın örneklemini, 2016-2024 yılları arasında Borsa İstanbul'da işlem gören ve devlet desteğinden yararlanan işletmeler oluşturmaktadır. Faaliyet raporları incelenerek hangi teşviklerden faydalanıldığı belirlenmiştir. Bulgular, benzer sektörlerde faaliyet gösteren işletmelerin aynı tür teşviklere başvurduğunu göstermektedir. Ancak teşvik türleri ve tutarlarında sektörel farklılıklar gözlemlenmiştir. Bazı işletmeler için destekler satış ve kâr marjında pozitif etki yaratırken, bazıları için yalnızca sınırlı alanlarda etkili olmuştur.
Uluslararası ticaret ve Türkiye: Ekonomik büyüme üzerine panel veri analizi
Uluslararası ticaret, farklı ülkeler tarafından üretilen malların veya sağlanan hizmetlerin karşılıklı değişimini ifade etmektedir. Uluslararası ticaret kapsamında benimsenen temel amaç; bir ülkenin kendi kapsamında üretemediği ya da üretim maliyetinin fazla olduğu malları daha düşük maliyetler ile farklı ülkelerden temin edebilmesine imkân tanımaktır. Bu sayede ülkelerin arasında gerçekleşen kaynak dağılımı daha verimli hale gelmektedir. Uluslararası ticaret, ulusal ekonomiler açısından oldukça büyük bir öneme sahiptir. Ekonomik büyüme, bir ulusun üretmekte olduğu mal ve sunduğu hizmetlerin miktarındaki artış anlamına gelmekteyken uluslararası ticaretin ekonomik büyümeye etkisi literatürde çeşitli yazarlar için geniş bir araştırma alanı olmuştur. İl düzeyindeki etkilere ilişkin yeterli araştırma bulunmadığından bu çalışmada, Türkiye'de il düzeyinde gerçekleşen ithalat ve ihracatın ekonomik büyümeye etkileri panel veri analizi yöntemiyle incelenmektedir. Bu amaç doğrultusunda iller, ihracat düzeyi yüksek ve düşük olmak üzere iki gruba ayrılarak iki ayrı panel veri analizi gerçekleştirilmiştir. Analizdeki değişkenler ise ihracat, ithalat ve kişi başı GSYH olarak belirlenmiştir. Araştırma sonuçlarına göre yüksek ihracat düzeyine sahip iller panelinde ihracat ile ekonomik büyüme arasında anlamlı bir ilişki saptanamazken düşük ihracat düzeyine sahip iller panelinde ise ihracatın ekonomik büyüme üzerinde istatistiksel olarak anlamlı fakat negatif bir etkiye sahip olduğu ortaya konmuştur. Sonuçlar ayrıca, her iki panelde de ithalat ile ekonomik büyüme arasında istatistiksel olarak anlamlı ve pozitif bir ilişki olduğunu göstermektedir.
Mobil bankacılık ve yapay zekâ teknolojilerine dayalı mobil bankacılık kullanımının müşteri memnuniyetine etkisi
Teknolojinin hızlı gelişimi, bankacılık sektöründe köklü değişimlere yol açarak geleneksel bankacılık anlayışını dönüştürmüştür. Bankalar, ATM, telefon, internet ve mobil bankacılık gibi teknoloji tabanlı hizmetler aracılığıyla dijitalleşme sürecini hızlandırmışlardır. Özellikle mobil bankacılığın yapay zekâ ile entegrasyonu, müşterilerin zaman ve mekândan bağımsız biçimde finansal işlemler gerçekleştirmesine olanak tanımakta; bu durum, kullanıcı deneyimini ve müşteri memnuniyetini önemli ölçüde artırmaktadır. Bu çalışmanın amacı, müşterilerin mobil bankacılık ve yapay zekâ destekli mobil bankacılık uygulamalarına yönelik tutum ve algılarını etkileyen faktörleri incelemek ve söz konusu teknolojilerin müşteri davranışları üzerindeki etkilerini değerlendirmektir. Bu kapsamda, mobil bankacılık, yapay zekâ tabanlı mobil bankacılık ve müşteri memnuniyeti kavramları çerçevesinde tüketici tutumları ampirik bir yaklaşımla analiz edilmiştir. Araştırmada veri toplama aracı olarak anket tekniği kullanılmış olup, analizler geçerli 515 anket üzerinden yürütülmüştür. Değişkenler arasındaki ilişkiler korelasyon analizi ile, değişkenlerin etkileri ise regresyon analizi ile incelenmiştir. Analiz sonuçları, mobil bankacılık ve yapay zekâ destekli mobil bankacılık kullanımının müşteri memnuniyeti üzerinde anlamlı ve pozitif etkiler yarattığını göstermektedir. Bu bulgu, dijital bankacılık hizmetlerinin kullanıcı dostu, güvenli ve yenilikçi biçimde sunulmasının, müşteri memnuniyetini artırmada belirleyici bir unsur olduğunu ortaya koymaktadır.
Sosyal medya pazarlamasının tüketici satın alma davranışına etkisinde marka değerinin aracılık etkisi
Bu çalışma, sosyal medya pazarlamasının tüketici satın alma davranışı üzerindeki marka değerinin aracılık etkisini incelemektedir. Katılımcıların gelir dağılımı ve meslek profilleri, sosyal medya kullanımının farklı sosyoekonomik gruplar arasında yaygın olduğunu göstermektedir. Instagram'ın en sık kullanılan platform olarak öne çıkması ve Nike, LCW ile Apple gibi markalara yüksek düzeyde maruziyet, dijital görünürlüğün tüketici farkındalığını artırmadaki önemini ortaya koymaktadır. Araştırmada güvenilirlik analizleri, doğrulayıcı faktör analizi, yapısal eşitlik modellemesi ve aracılık testi uygulanmıştır. Bulgular, sosyal medya pazarlamasının marka değerini güçlü biçimde artırdığını ve marka değerinin satın alma davranışını belirgin şekilde etkilediğini göstermektedir. Aracılık analizleri, sosyal medya pazarlamasının satın alma davranışı üzerindeki etkisinin önemli bir bölümünün marka değeri üzerinden dolaylı olarak gerçekleştiğini doğrulamaktadır. Sonuçlar, sosyal medya pazarlamasının kısa vadeli kampanya etkilerinin ötesinde, marka değeri oluşturma ve tüketici davranışını şekillendirmede stratejik bir rol oynadığını ortaya koymaktadır. Markaların etkileşim, güven ve uzun vadeli değer oluşturmaya odaklanan bütünleşik sosyal medya stratejileri geliştirmeleri önerilmektedir.
A comparative analysis of corporate social responsibility practices of Turkish companies and companies with foreign ownership
The concept Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) has been very popular both in the academia and business world especially in the recent fifty years. Supranational and non-governmental organizations, governments, business world and scholars strive for promoting CSR.The main objective of this study is to investigate the CSR practices of listed companies with a special emphasis on the differences between CSR practices of Turkish companies and companies with foreign ownership. Shareholder theory, stakeholder theory and institutional theory establish the theoretical framework of the study. For this aim, CSR practices of companies listed in the Istanbul Stock Exchange National 100 Index as of the last quarter of year 2009 is analyzed. The data were collected from archival sources such as annual reports, corporate governance compliance reports, and official web sites. Content analysis method is used for the analysis. Activities carried out by companies beyond ethical and legal obligations were regarded as CSR and every activity is coded as a project. These projects are investigated based on various dimensions namely subject area, target, scope, partners, level of engagement and time span.Findings reveal that there are significant differences between CSR practices of companies. This difference can be observed both among the Turkish companies, and between Turkish companies and companies with foreign ownership. Especially, scopes of the projects, engagement levels of companies in the projects and types of partnerships while carrying out the projects substantially differ between Turkish companies and companies with foreign ownership.
Knowledge-based economy and economic growth: Empirical analysis of BRICST countries
Rapid developments in information and communication Technologies (ICT) and intense pressure of globalization have changed trade relations and economic performance in global economy. Particularly the invention of many ICT tools and services, growing demand to technology products, rise of knowledge-based sectors have addressed the role of intangible factors such as education, knowledge, information, innovation and R&D as new source of economic growth. However, with the onset of global financial crisis, many countries have experienced recessions or less growth than before. Lasting uncertainty in macroeconomic stability and concern about the future performance of global market lead governments to realize knowledge-based economy (KBE) as a major solution to problems of the existing economy. Emerging countries are also perceived as the global leaders of KBE due to their better and faster performance in adopting new technologies and increasing their accumulation of knowledge than the advanced countries.The aim of this study is to analyze major determinants of KBE which are based on World Bank Knowledge Assessment Framework, on economic performance indicators such as GDP, GDP per capita and economic growth rate in Brazil, Russia, China, India, South Africa and Turkey (BRICST) over the period from 2000 to 2010 by using Panel Data Model. The empirical evidence reveal that ICT infrastructure and secondary education are found to be important infrastructure channels that affect GDP per capita positively in the BRICST countries. In addition, the number of R&D personnel as an indicator for innovation potential has positive influence on the GDP per capita. Accumulation of educated people in R&D can affect country?s ability to innovate, benefit from ICT and enhance economic performance. Therefore, expansion of ICT infrastructure together with educated R&D personnel have become the major factors that affect economic performance in the BRICST countries.
Sovereign debt distress in the developed and emerging countries
Global financial markets have experienced one of the biggest economic crises since the Great Depression in the 1930s. The negative effect of the economic crisis is felt by all the major economies of the world, especially by the countries with structural fiscal problems. Since financial debt or public debt is crucial for economic growth and development, many major governments have borrowed heavily. Over the last two decades, emerging economies had similar experiences and faced sovereign debt crises as a result of heavy debt burdens. The aim of the study is to investigate the stages of a sovereign debt crisis and determine the major indicators of a debt crisis for major developed and emerging countries over the period of 1993-2011. Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) Method is employed to determine the sources of debt crisis and compare the performances of countries, with quarterly panel data.The striking feature of the analysis is that major indicators of sovereign debt default have a strong effect in both models for the developed countries and the European countries with default risk. Empirical results indicate that current account balance-to-GDP is important in terms of sovereign debt default for all countries. Total external debt-to-GDP is found to be a very important determinant for sovereign debt default in the developed countries. Interest rates are implied to be an important determinant in advanced countries but it is not that important in emerging markets. Foreign exchange reserves are also important for emerging market countries and more important for European countries with default risk.
Analysis of extreme dependence between Istanbul Stock Exchange and Brent oil returns using bivariate extreme value theory
In this thesis, the relationship between oil price movements and Turkish stock market is investigated. Given the fact that Turkey is an emerging and oil dependent country, the relationship between stock market behavior and fluctuations in oil prices is analyzed by focusing on extreme observations. Bivariate extreme value methodology is used in order to examine the dependence structure between oil and stock market (ISE100). The residuals of autoregressive integrated moving average (ARIMA) models of stock market index and Brent oil returns are examined by using bivariate extreme value analysis over the period between 1988 and 2012. The overall period studied is subdivided into two phases for analysis. Results of the thesis indicate a higher dependence in the second phase (2000-2012), compared to the first phase (1988-2000). Results also show that in the second phase the extremes on the negative tails coincide more commonly compared to the extremes on the positive tails, which is in line with the current literature findings. A more focused analysis of bivariate extreme value theory (EVT) for the 2008-2012 period is conducted within the thesis and highest dependence of oil prices and stock market is found in this period. However, in general Turkish stock market and oil returns are asymptotically independent in extreme observations, which suggest different diversification strategies for portfolio managers.
External environment effects on product innovation performance: The food and beverage industry in Istanbul
Product innovation performance is gaining importance in today?s world along with increasing globalization and the developments in technology. Firms, even the biggest market leaders, do not possess all the internal skills, knowledge and capabilities needed to cope with global competition. Therefore, innovation can come from outside and large multinationals are moving towards a double network structure which makes external environment vital. Within this context, the primary objective of this thesis is to analyze the effects of some major factors and linkages related to the external environment of the firm on its product innovation performance. The factors are grouped as external knowledge inflow, cooperation with various external parties and international trade activities. To the best knowledge, literature lacks a study which involves the analysis of all these specific factors in a single study. The framework developed is implemented on the food and beverage sector empirically. For this purpose, an extensive literature survey is conducted and related data is gathered using a questionnaire developed for this purpose. Utilizing statistical tests such as frequency, crosstab, correlation and regression, the impact of external environment are analyzed. This study can shed light on similar studies with the suggestion that external environment related various factors of the firm are worth analyzing in studying the product innovation performance of firms. The framework can also be implemented on companies from various sectors which would make it possible to benchmark sectors in terms of product innovation performance.
Psychic distance and the internationalization process of large Turkish corporations
In line with the Uppsala Model, internationalization process is a consequence of an incremental decision and learning process in which firms initially enter psychically close foreign markets with low control/commitment modes. They gradually enter psychically distant countries with increased control/commitment involvements as they gain experience. Psychic distance is defined as differences relating to the foreign market characteristics that prevent the flow of information between suppliers and customers and lead to the perception of foreignness and uncertainty. Extant literature identifies market, firm and manager characteristics as the three groups of variables affecting the perception of psychic distance. The impact of psychic distance on foreign country market and entry mode selection decisions, marketing strategy pursued, and the performance of the operations in the host countries is widely studied, however contradictory findings are observed. The current study explores the relationships between psychic distance and market, firm, manager characteristics. entry mode and marketing strategy decisions for and the performance of operations in the most important foreign market, as well as the impact of psychic distance on the internationalization process of 104 large firms within the context of an emerging economy, Turkey. The results reveal that the most important foreign country market ?Germany is perceived to be psychically distant and that the perception of psychic distance vaguely affects the foreign market selection decisions of Turkish managers. Firm and manager characteristics such as the firm?s age and size, the degree of international experience, foreign market diversification, the frequency of overseas travels by managers and the marketing strategy pursued in the most important foreign market are significantly related to the level of psychic distance perceived. Additionally, marketing strategy pursued and the performance of operations in the most important foreign market are found to be significantly related.
Individual economic security, national security, and the mediating role of trust in government: A survey among the young Bulgarian generations' attitudes
This study aims at examining the attitudes and perceptions of the young Bulgarian generation regarding the concepts of individual economic security, trust in government, and national security as well as the correlations between them. An exhaustive literature review has been carried out in order to explore the dynamics of each of the concepts and to build on a platform, upon which to compile a questionnaire. The obtained data from the questionnaire serves to test four basic hypotheses that highlight the relations between economic security, trust in government, and national security. Eventually, a positive correlation between economic security and national security, with the mediation of trust in government, is underlined and statistically proven.
Sovereign credit default swap market response to credit rating announcements: An event study on emerging markets
Credit risk assessments by credit rating agencies and credit default swap (CDS) spreads are the leading indicators of credit risk. Extant literature examined CDS market response to credit rating announcements by credit rating agencies for corporate entities and mostly for developed markets. Few studies, however, investigated the relationship between CDS market and credit rating announcements for sovereign entities. The current study investigates the effect of credit rating announcements on emerging market sovereign CDS spreads and analyzes whether credit rating announcements are anticipated by the CDS market within a period of thirteen years starting from 2001. Event study methodology is used to assess the impact of the credit rating events on sovereign CDS spreads of twenty emerging markets. The results reveal that emerging market CDS spreads respond significantly to positive rating announcements. On the other hand, no significant responses were found for negative rating announcements, implying that the reactions of CDS spreads to credit rating announcements are not symmetrical for positive and negative rating announcements. Additionally, results suggest that both positive and negative rating announcements are anticipated by the CDS market for the entities studied.
Achieving growth through social innovation: A beyond GDP trial. Case studies of Turkey and Russia
Beyond GDP approach emphasizes that GDP alone is not comprehensive enough to capture the factors that contribute to the growth in the society. For several years, academicians try to identify the perfect indicator, which describes state of our well-being in the best way. The thesis' novelty is in its aim of identification of the conceptual relationship between Beyond GDP and social innovation by analyzing the ecosystem of social innovation. There are three major aims defined. The first one is to identify the potential of "beyond GDP" on social innovation. The second one is to propose a novel approach to defining social innovation ecosystem in the light of Social Progress Index, Global Innovation Index and the Legatum Prosperity Index. Volunteering was added to the ecosystem as a unique enabler of social innovation. The development of optimal social innovation ecosystem is to be followed by the specific ones for Turkey and Russia, based on the analysis of respective index indicators scores. The third one is to conduct a case study of social innovation initiatives in Turkey and Russia. Two examples of local foundations that operate with a help of volunteers were examined. At the end of the thesis, policy making recommendations based on the best practices are provided.
A comparative study on mutual fund performances of emerging markets in the era of quantitative easing
This study aims to analyze six emerging markets' equity funds – Turkey, Poland, Taiwan, South Africa, India and Mexico – during the period between January 2009 and October 2014. After the global financial crisis of 2008 came a period of quantitative easing (QE), creating an increase in the money supply and leading to a capital flow from developed countries to developing countries. The stock markets of these selected emerging countries increased dramatically during the era of quantitative easing. In this work, a total of 73 equity funds (11 Turkish Equity Funds, 14 Polish Equity Funds, 15 Taiwanese Equity Funds, 10 South African Equity Funds, 12 Indian Equity Funds, 11 Mexican Equity Funds) are analyzed in order to compare these funds' performances within this period. In order to measure these funds' performances, the Sharpe ratio (1966), Treynor ratio (1965), Jensen's alpha (1968), Sortino ratio (1994) and M2 ratio (1996) methods are used. Jensen's alpha is also used in identifying selectivity skills of fund managers. Furthermore, the Treynor & Mazuy (1966) and Henriksson & Merton (1981) regression analysis methods are applied to ascertain the market timing ability of fund managers.
Effects of information and communication technologies on international trade: A panel data analysis
Information and communication technologies (ICT) are considered as one of the key factors increasing the efficiency, productivity and the overall performance of the systems. This thesis aims to explore the increasing importance of ICT usage in international trade. Different indexes in measuring ICT usage are reviewed with their pillars and the top country rankings. Taking the Global Competitiveness Index 2014 as the source, the study investigates the effects of ICT usage on the integration of countries to the world trade by taking the countries' export/GDP ratio as their integration indicator. The panel data is generated by taking 21 countries and nine years into account without time lag and seven years with two years of time lag. The results show that there is a significant positive relationship between ICT usage and a country's export/GDP ratio. Especially, the number of fixed broadband connection subscriptions and quality of scientific research institutions are seen to be two of the most influential factors to affect the export/GDP ratio positively, while on the other hand, firms' technology absorption and governments' advanced technology procurement are the most negatively sub-pillars of ICT usage. Additionally, the FDI and the technology transfer seem to be candidates for being influential factors for the export/GDP ratio in the long run.
Antecedents of export performance: The case of the Turkish textile and apparel industry
Ever-changing global conditions directly affect the firms and their international involvement. Therefore, the firms should chose a position and use their resources so that they can maintain their competitive advantages and keep away from the risks of the new situation. This study employs the Resource Based View (RBV) of the firm in order to identify several human capital, physical capital and organizational capital resources with positive export performance implications. The effect of factors internal to the firms and are uncontrollable in the short run are analyzed. The proposed export performance model is tested using nonparametric statistical techniques on a sample of 58 Turkish exporters all from textile and apparel industry. The impact of eight characteristics categorized under two groups as managerial characteristics (manager's education, manager's international experience) and firm characteristics and competencies (firm size, firm's age, Eximbank supports, business group affiliation, R&D expenditure and innovativeness) on export performance is analyzed. Four of these characteristics - manager's education, manager's international experience, Eximbank supports and R&D expenditure - are found to be positively and significantly related to the export performance while other four variables - firm size, firm's age, business group affiliation and innovativeness- had insignificant relationships. This study is the first industry specific study which takes into account the lagged effect of R&D expenditure on export performance in Turkish context.
An efficiency analysis of international airline alliances: An empirical study using data envelopment analysis
Alliances are inevitable outcomes of globalization and global competition in important industries such as the airline industry. That is the reason why the analyses in this study are not limited with airline level evaluation but assessments for alliances are also performed. This study evaluates the relative efficiencies of international passenger airline alliances, namely Star Alliance, One World and Sky Team, at transforming their inputs into outputs. Via Data envelopment analysis (DEA), four main and two explanatory models are analyzed for the year 2014 with BCC and CCR approaches using different input-output variable combinations such as total passenger seat capacity, fuel cost and seat per aircraft as the input variables and load factor, ASK and RPK as the output variables. Super-efficiency calculations are also performed in order to compare the results found by standard efficiency assessments. Two models employing ASK and load factor as the output variables are utilized to perform the efficiency analysis for the year 2013, as well. It is determined which airlines are playing as benchmarking peers for which airlines. Airline industry is proved to show variable returns to scale characteristics. Star Alliance is found to have the members that can be taken reference most by other two alliances' member airlines for efficiency improvements. The excess amounts of inputs are determined for each alliance and their member airlines. Alliances will be able to identify their strengths and improvement areas and achieve more healthy developments with the help of the implications derived from this study.
Criteria for and determinants of transportation selection decisions in exports: A case study of five industries in Turkey
In modern economy, decisions regarding what is to be produced correlates with the availability of a proper transportation network and the ability to supply these products to the market at lower cost. The most important question in world distribution is how the goods will be shipped from the origin to the destination. Regular mode selection depends on several dimensions. Among these dimensions are size, durability and value of the product which are issues related to the nature of the product. These may lead to the elimination of some modes from consideration as these modes cannot physically, legally or safely handle the goods. Weight, density and shape of a product can also greatly influence this decision. There were three major aims of the present research. The first one was to identify the major criteria and factors that might influence the selection mode process. The second was to implement those factors in five different Turkish export-oriented companies from various industries. Taking into account the diversity and complexity of the study, the participants were chosen according to their direct role in decision-making. Among them are CEOs, heads of export departments, and directors. The third aim was to conduct a case study aiming to compare proposed hypotheses and real-life situations. A decision-making flowchart that accounts for internal as well as important external factors was proposed.
The relationship between customer participation in the service innovation process and customer satisfaction
As active co-creators of services rather than passive buyers, customers can act as a crucial source of innovation for service providers. Thus, the latter are willing to involve the former in their service innovation process (SIP). Past studies indicate that one of the ultimate consequences of customer participation in the SIP is customer satisfaction. Against this background, this study investigates the impact of customer participation in the SIP on their satisfaction with service providers and their services in the context of business-to-business relationships. Customer participation in the SIP is analyzed along five dimensions, namely, customer motivation, stages of participation, intensity of participation, channels of participation and relationship quality. Theories of motivation and a resource-based view of the firm are used to shed light on impact of customer participation in the SIP on customer satisfaction. Data was collected from the Turkish Courier, Express and Parcel (CEP) industry through a survey. In order to examine the effects of these dimensions on customer satisfaction, nonparametric statistical techniques were used on a sample of 91 corporate customers of a leading CEP company. The findings of the study demonstrate that the quality of relationship between the customer and service provider and the use of a larger number of channels of participation have a positive influence on customer satisfaction. On the other hand, although customer motivation, stages of participation and intensity of participation have statistically significant positive correlations with customer satisfaction, they do not emerge as its significant predictors.
The determinants of high-technology export performance: An empirical investigation in BRICT
2006 ile 2014 yılları arasında Türkiye ile BRİC ülkelerinden yapılan yüksek teknoloji ihracat performansının belirleyicilerini araştırmak için, ulusal yenilikçi kapasite çerçevesine ve yüksek teknoloji göstergeleri kavramsal modeline dayalı ampirik bir model oluşturduk. Sabit etkili üç panel veri kestirimi yöntemi uygulanmıştır: bunlar sırasıyla Driscoll-Kraay standart hata regresyonu, standart hataları düzeltilmiş panel doğrusal regresyonu ve büyük etkisiz-değişken kümeli sağlam doğrusal regresyon yöntemleridir. Ampirik model için beş adet ölçüm kümesi tanımlandı: inovasyon, üretken kapasite, finansal piyasaların gelişimi, ulusal yönelim ve nitelikli iş gücü olarak sıralanmaktadır. Bu kümelerin içinde en iyi açıklama gücüne sahip olan inovasyon ile ilgili belirleyiciler olarak belirlendi. Bunu takiben 93% açıklama gücüne sahip beş bütünleşik ampirik model tanımlandı. Nitelikli iş gücü (örneği: doktoralılar, bilim ve mühendislik dalından mezun olanlar), beşeri sermaye (örneği: Ar-Ge faliyetlerinde çalışan araştırmacılar) ve devletin Ar-Ge harcamaları tüm modellerde pozitif ve istatistiksel olarak anlamlı bulunmaktadırlar. Hatta bunlardan bazıları modellerde yüksek teknoloji ihracatında en büyük etkiyi ortaya koymaktadırlar. Örneğin; tüm diğer etkenler sabitken, devletin Ar-Ge harcamalarını ve araştırıcı sayısını 10% oranında arttırması yüksek teknoloji ihracatının ilkinde 7.23% ikincisinde ise 1.4% oranında artması sonucunu doğurur. BRİC ve Türkiye'den yapılan yüksek teknoloji ihracatı başarısı üzerinde yerel yenilikçi kapasite önemli bir role sahiptir.
Kültürel zekanın iş performansı üzerindeki etkisi: Konya'daki ihracat yapan firmalar üzerine araştırma
Günümüzde, özellikle ihracat yapan şirketlerde çalışanlar, meslek hayatlarının belirli dönemlerinde doğdukları ve yaşadıkları kültürden farklı kültürel ortamlarda görev yapma deneyimi yaşamaktadırlar. Bu süreçte, çalışanların farklı kültürel ortamlara uyum sağlama becerisi, farklı kültürlerdeki inanç ve hassasiyetleri fark edebilme yeteneği, farklı kültürden bireylerin düşüncelerini ve duygularını anlama kabiliyeti ile etkili iletişim kurabilme becerisi gibi özelliklerde farklılık gösterdikleri görülmektedir. Bu farklılıkların, çalışanların kültürel zekâsı ve iş performanslarıyla ilişkili olabileceği düşünülmektedir. Bu bağlamda, Konya ilindeki bir ihracat şirketinde çalışan 170 kişi (80 kadın, 90 erkek), ilişkisel ve nicel bir araştırma kapsamında incelenmiştir. Araştırma verileri, yüz yüze görüşmelerle gerçekleştirilen anketler aracılığıyla toplanmıştır. Bu anketlerde, Kültürel Zekâ Ölçeği, İş Performansı Ölçeği ve Kişisel Bilgi Formu kullanılmıştır. Ölçeklerin güvenilirliği, daha önce yapılan çalışmalarla karşılaştırıldığında yeterli olduğu görülmüştür. Kültürel Zekâ ile İş Performansı arasındaki ilişkiyi analiz etmek için Doğrulayıcı Faktör Analizi yöntemi uygulanmıştır. Analiz sonuçlarına göre, oluşturulan modelin geçerli olduğu belirlenmiştir. Araştırma bulguları, Kültürel Zeka'nın iş performansı üzerinde önemli bir etkiye sahip olduğunu göstermektedir.
Türkiye'de iklimlendirme sektörünün dış ticaret ve uluslararası rekabet gücü bağlamında değerlendirilmesi
İklimlendirme sektörü küresel ekonominin önemli bir parçasıdır. Dünyada küresel ısınmanın etkileri, iklim değişikliği ve enerji kaynaklarının gitgide tükenmekte oluşu gibi sebeplerden dolayı ülkeler daha çevreci ve daha verimli ürünlere gereksinim duymuşlardır. Bu bağlamda gerek dünyada gerekse ülkemizde iklimlendirme sektörünün önemi giderek artmaktadır. İklimlendirme sektörü, çok fazla sayıda ürün ve hizmet çeşitliliğine sahiptir. Bu çalışmanın amacı, 2001-2021 dönemler için Türk iklimlendirme sektörünün ve alt ürün grubunun (ısıtma, soğutma, klima, havalandırma, tesisat, yalıtım) uluslararası rekabet gücünün araştırılmasıdır. İklimlendirme sektörünün alt ürün grubuna yönelik 24 ürünün rekabet gücü analiz edilmiştir. Bu kapsamda çalışmada Balassa'ın Açıklanmış Karşılaştırmalı Üstünlükler Endeksi (RCA), Vollrath'ın Endeksleri (RXA, RMP, RTA, RC), Açıklanmış Simetrik Karşılaştırmalı Üstünlükler Endeksi (RSCA), Ticaret Dengesi Endeksi (TBI) ve Ürün Haritalama yöntemi kullanılmıştır. Çalışma literatürde ilk kez Türk iklimlendirme sektörünün ve alt ürün grubunun rekabet gücünü Ürün Haritalaması Yöntemi ile irdelemektedir. Çalışmanın bulgularına göre, Türkiye'nin iklimlendirme sektöründe rekabet gücüne sahip olduğu ortaya çıkarılmıştır. Sektörün alt ürün grubu bağlamında bulguları ise ülkemizin 11 üründe rekabet gücüne sahip olduğu, 3 üründe rekabet gücünün sınırda olduğu ve 10 üründe rekabet gücüne sahip olmadığı tespit edilmiştir. Anahtar Kelimeler: İklimlendirme Sektörü, Uluslararası Rekabet gücü, Ürün haritalama
Impact of Unorthodox monetary policy on sectoral international trade performance
This study aims to determine the impact of unorthodox monetary policy implemented in Turkey on sectoral foreign trade performance. In this study, Turkey's sectoral foreign trade data for the period January 2010 – May 2023 are analyzed. Monthly exports and imports data of agriculture and forestry, mining and quarrying, manufacturing industry and wholesale and retailing sectors, which contain a large portion (%99) of the country's whole international trade volume at sectoral level, are analyzed using exchange rates, funding cost of central bank of Turkey (interest rates) and production indices of EU and Turkey. Within the scope of the study, the relevant variables were estimated with long and short-run models by applying the ARDL bounds test by analyzing the sectors. Unorthodox monetary policy is corresponding to the latest observations between March 2021 to May 2023. The findings show that Turkish Lira depreciation against the basket exchange rate index and exports in most sectors are positively correlated, while funding cost (interest rates) and imports are negatively correlated. Increases in production indices of EU and Turkey have a positive effect on both exports and imports. The unorthodox period dummy shows that this period had a significant effect on both exports and imports of all sectors excluding wholesale and retail imports. An analysis of the sensitivity of different sectors to the macroeconomic factors studied as control variables reveals that their impact varies according to sectoral characteristics.
International trade and cryptocurrency movements: A network analysis
This thesis examines the intricate dynamics between international trade and cryptocurrency transactions, with a particular focus on Bitcoin. Employing an extensive dataset that includes the Direction of Trade Statistics for imports and exports, alongside the World Governance Indicators, this study explores the multifaceted relationships between global trade activities and cryptocurrency operations. The findings reveal that countries with substantial trade volumes are more likely to engage in significant cryptocurrency transactions, suggesting that cryptocurrencies are increasingly used to facilitate international trade. This research supports several hypotheses, including the positive correlation between trade volume and cryptocurrency activity, and the role of cryptocurrencies in enabling financial activities in countries facing capital account deficits. Conversely, the study also addresses hypotheses that were not supported, providing critical insights into the limitations of cryptocurrencies in contexts of political and economic instability. By analyzing the overlap and distinctions between cryptocurrency and traditional trade networks, this thesis contributes to a deeper understanding of the evolving landscape of digital finance and its implications for international trade and economic policy.
An empirical analysis on the effect of oil prices on producer price inflation in Türkiye
Oil is one of the backbones of the economic structure of the world we live in today and plays an important role in Türkiye's economy. Since Türkiye is an energy importing country, it is deemed important to investigate how the changes in global oil prices would affect inflation in Türkiye. The methodology utilized in this thesis was using a ARDL model for the relationship between the changes in the domestic producer price in Türkiye, the changes in the exchange rates, the changes in the Eurozone total industrial producer price index, the changes in the prices of futures contracts of oil, the changes in the minimum wages and the changes in the money supply and a dummy variable. The outcome suggests that there is a statistically significant and positive relationship between the changes in the prices of futures contracts of oil and the changes in the domestic PPI of Türkiye in the above mentioned forms.
Sürdürülebilir finans ve yenilenebilir enerji odaklı performans analizi: Bankalar üzerine bir uygulama
Bu çalışma, Türkiye'de faaliyet gösteren bazı bankaların yenilenebilir enerji yatırımlarının finansmanındaki rollerini çok kriterli karar verme yaklaşımlarıyla değerlendirmeyi amaçlamaktadır. Sürdürülebilir kalkınma hedeflerinin bir parçası olarak yeşil finansmanın önemi giderek artmakta olup, bankacılık sektörünün bu alandaki katkısının ölçülmesi stratejik bir gereklilik haline gelmiştir. Bu kapsamda hem finansal hem de çevresel kriterler temel alınarak, bankaların performansları nesnel yöntemlerle karşılaştırmalı olarak analiz edilmiştir. Çalışmada kullanılan veriler, belirlenen bankaların 2024 yılına ait faaliyet raporları ve sürdürülebilirlik raporları temel alınarak oluşturulmuştur. Analiz sürecinde Entropi yöntemi ile belirlenen kriterlerin ağırlıkları hesaplanmış, TOPSIS yöntemi ile bankalar performanslarına göre sıralanmıştır. Çalışmada kullanılan kriterler uzman görüşü alınarak belirlenmiş olup söz konusu kriterler; yenilenebilir enerji kredi miktarı, net kar, ESG skoru, sürdürülebilir finans hacmi gibi finansal göstergeler ile emisyon dağılımı, enerji tüketimi ve kağıt kullanımı gibi çevresel göstergeleri kapsamaktadır. Analiz sonuçlarına göre, bankalar performanslarına göre sıralanmıştır. Sonuçlar, bankaların sürdürülebilir finansman stratejileri ile çevresel sorumlulukları arasında güçlü bir ilişki olduğunu ortaya koymaktadır. Ayrıca, çevresel göstergelerin finansal analiz süreçlerine entegre edilmesinin, bankaların stratejik konumlarını doğrudan etkilediği gözlemlenmiştir. Entropi ve TOPSIS yöntemlerinin birlikte kullanımıyla yapılan analiz, finans sektöründeki sürdürülebilirlik temelli performans analizleri için objektif ve uygulanabilir bir yaklaşım sunmaktadır. Anahtar Kelimeler: Yenilenebilir Enerji, Bankacılık Sektörü, Sürdürülebilirlik, ESG
Consumer acceptance of wearable technology devices: A cross-cultural study in Turkey and Germany
With the rapid change in technology worldwide, products such as wearable technology devices tend to have an uprising trend that comes with wider variety nowadays. Consumers, however, are not necessarily adaptive in their nature and their perception is shaped by many factors. The aim of this research is to investigate the consumer acceptance of wearable technology devices. For this purpose, a research instrument was developed through which data was collected from German and Turkish university students. The study extends the widely used technology acceptance model with the introduction of new variables. The overall results provide validation to previous literature while introducing new factors for consumer acceptance of technology products, wearable technology devices and smartwatches, specifically. Importance of this research comes from the innovative and promising nature of the wearable technology devices concept, the lack of work on smartwatches in the literature as well as the cross-cultural nature of the study.
The effect of after-sales services on customer retention: The case of the Turkish smartphone market
Customer retention success affects continuity and operational strategies of companies. Since the competition increases in global markets, companies diversify their services to keep longer customer engagements. There are several customer retention tools, including post sale services. The purpose of this thesis is to examine the effect of after-sales services on customer retention in the smartphone market while contributing to the literature by providing a theoretical framework related to the discussion of the use of after-sales services as a customer retention strategy. The after-sales services in Turkish smartphone market is analyzed as a case to explore and explain the findings of the thesis. Servqual model is adopted to investigate the antecedents, behaviors and outcomes associated with consumer interaction at certain technical service centers. In order to test the model, paper and online-based survey method were used. Questionnaires were selected among those who used a smartphone and previously sent their smartphones to a technical service for repair. The service quality impact on intention of repurchasing the same brand was investigated in terms of Servqual model. The findings reveal that previous after-sales services quality in terms of reliability, responsiveness, empathy and tangibles dimensions are valid and meaningfully affect the repurchasing the same brand smartphone decision. A final report is developed with the set of recommendations to guide manufacturers in adjusting their business strategy for after-sales service portfolio.
Firm-level antecedents of export performance
Removal of barriers to international trade and investment in addition to technological developments particularly in communication and digitalization increased the significance of global trade in 2000s. However, recent developments regarding UK's Brexit uncertainty and potential trade wars have been threatening the international business activities. Changing nature of the trade dynamics and conditions of competition raises the importance of exporting especially for developing economies. In this context, Turkey, as a developing economy, is in need to build a sustainable economy by increasing competitive power and managing chronic account deficit. In this study, firm-level antecedents of export performance are investigated. The resource-based view, which emphasizes the internal environment of the firm as the source of its competitive advantage, establishes the theoretical framework of the study. The sample is drawn from Istanbul Chamber of Industry's "Turkey's Largest 1000 Manufacturing Firms" list and includes 58 firms. Data were collected from archival sources as well as through a survey. Research findings show that manager's level of education, foreign language ability, and level of motivation for exporting as well as firm's export marketing strategies and organizational export commitment differentiate between firms with better and poorer export performance. However, regression analysis reveals manager's level of motivation for exporting as the most significant antecedent of export performance.
Participation in the sharing economy: The role of national culture
Sharing economy, a disruptive way of doing business, is providing which is ours to other people for their use. Technological developments especially on internet technologies let a convenient space to rising of sharing economy, thus it has become very popular in the last decade. Companies like Uber and Airbnb created a new and disruptive business model in their areas, respectively ride sharing and house sharing. This research focuses on accommodation and ride sharing parts of sharing economy. We examined the possible relation of national cultural values with participation in the sharing economy. On a national scale Hofstede's data for national culture values and Statista's eTravel Market Report data for sharing economy participation for nations were used. Along with cultural characteristics, the possible effect of country specific variables on participation in sharing economy was also examined. Multiple definitions for participation in sharing economy were used. Results of the study show that different variables have significant effect on ride sharing and house sharing. The significant variables showed discrepancy depending on the different definitions for participation in ride sharing and house sharing.
An ex ante evaluation of free trade agreements: The case of Turkey and Brazil
As globalization spreads out all over the world, developing countries such as Turkey and Brazil become more vulnerable to global economic developments. Free trade agreements (FTA) can be viewed as one of the measures to reach the speed of economic globalization. Within this context, Turkey wants to sign a free trade agree agreement with Common Market of the South (MERCOSUR) which Brazil is a member of. This study tries to specify the determinants of a potential increase in trade volume, exports and imports between Turkey and Brazil and to investigate in which sectors there will be a revealed comparative advantage between Turkey and Brazil. The study analyses trade volume, export and import trade flows between two countries from 1995 to 2014 by using gravity model. The results show that the growth in GDP and PPP of both countries positively affects the trade volume and export to Brazil, import from Brazil. On the other hand, as trade cost decreases, trade volume and export to Brazil increase. Revealed comparative advantage (RCA) index is also used in this study to determine which sectors will have bigger RCA. The panel data consists of RCA of 16 different product groups between 1990 and 2014. The results show that Brazil can benefit from its RCA in animal products, vegetables, food products, minerals and wood while Turkey can benefit from its RCA in textiles and clothing, stone and glass, metals, machinery and electronics, transportation and plastic or rubber products.
The role of shadow economies in ecological footprint quality: Empirical evidence from Turkey
With this study, the role of shadow economies in ecological footprint levels is intended to be investigated for the case of Turkey. Annual data that ranges from 1961 to 2014 has been selected with this respect. Results of this study confirm the long-term effects of shadow economic activities on the levels of ecological footprint in Turkey. It is found that the volume of shadow economies exerts positively significant and elastic effects on ecological footprint; that is, one percent change in shadow economic activities leads to one percent change in ecological footprint in the same directions. Therefore, this study reaches a significant conclusion that shadow economies in Turkey are long-term and vital drivers of environmental pollution in the case of Turkey. In order to acquire Turkey's historical background, demographic information and foreign trade on environmental degradation, an ecological footprint-income model with variables such as energy consumption, urbanization, financial development, real exchange rate, and trade openness have been augmented. The empirical conclusions reveal that the Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC) hypothesis holds in the long-run. All variables except urbanization have also been found statistically significant on ecological footprints of Turkey.
Exploring the antecedents of entrepreneurial intentions an examination of global entrepreneurship monitor data
The calls for new and innovative firms are growing louder, claiming entrepreneurs create jobs and boost the economy at the same time. This study examines the effects of unemployment and perceived opportunities and capabilities on entrepreneurial intentions. Previously, most research in this field focused on entrepreneurial activity instead and yielded contradicting outcome. The aim is to make use of the more direct relationship that can be drawn by employing entrepreneurial intentions instead of actual activity. Specifically, this study focuses on the relationship between unemployment and entrepreneurial intentions. Data from the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor and the World Bank for 92 countries and for the years between 2003 and 2018 are analyzed by conducting a multiple linear regression. The findings of this study show that unemployment rates are positively related to entrepreneurial intentions and so are increasing levels of perceived opportunities and capabilities. This study offers a new perspective on the discussion of the relationship between unemployment and entrepreneurship. The results indicate that the drivers of entrepreneurial intentions are numerous and yield relevant insights for policymakers to support them in their efforts to promote entrepreneurship and spur economic development.
Cointegration and causality relationship between Borsa Istanbul's BIST 100 and exchange rates
This thesis investigates the relation between the stock prices and the exchange rates(against US dollar) of Turkey, based on the monthly data from January 2003 to February 2019.The study inspects the short-run causal relationship by employing multivariate Granger causality test, and probes the long-run relation of the aforementioned variables using Johansen cointegration test. In addition, by use of multivariate DCC-GARCH method, dynamic conditional correlation among variables are estimated & forecasted for future periods. Empirical results suggest that only one long-term relation exists between these variables, and the direction of causality runs from stock prices to exchange rates. Findings of DCC-GARCH implies that significant dynamic conditional correlation is present among the time series studied. Also, a considerable time varying correlation is established between BIST100 stock prices and real exchange rates, which is in accordance to the result of preceding methods.
Stock market responses to sovereign rating announcements: An event study on different country groups
Credit rating agencies have gained significant importance in the last decades. Rating activities started with corporate bonds. Vast number of markets and tools are graded by agencies now. Many studies focused on corporate bond ratings and reaction of related stocks. Fewer studies investigated the relationship between sovereign credit ratings and country stock indexes. The thesis aims to measure the response of different index groups to sovereign credit rating announcements. Selected country groups are BRICS, developed markets economies and sub-segments of emerging markets. Response differences between mentioned groups are investigated in this study. 18 different indexes are included in the study. Period of the thesis is 01.01.2009 and 31.12.2018. Event study methodology is the used assessment technique in the study. The results underlined that there are significant returns for each of the selected groups. BRICS, developed market economies and investable emerging markets have significant abnormal returns during both upgrades and downgrades. Non-investable emerging markets and EU-member emerging markets had significant returns only during downgrades. On the other hand, Non-EU member emerging markets showed significant returns during upgrades.
The effect of international trade on greenhouse gas emissions:A panel data analysis
There is an increasing and urgent need for a global action in terms of pollutants. Through various conferences, agreements and protocols it became clear that the most immediate danger is coming through GHG emissions and the resulting global climate change. Taking Paris Agreement as a point of origin, this paper aims to provide a summary of the current levels of CO2 emissions and its linkage to international trade through real GDP per capita, energy consumption, trade openness, share of urban population over the period of years 1992-2014, while testing the EKC hypothesis. From the CCPI 2018 report, a panel of top 20 largest CO2 emitters are chosen over the years 1992-2014, for a detailed investigation to meet that end. The results show three of the total nine proposed models show over 70% R-squared statistics, supporting the EKC hypothesis.
An examination of sales performance indicators for international live music events in Turkey
Music industry has been disrupted tremendously by the digital economy. As a result, live music events, instead of record sales, has become a major driver of the industry with growing number of performers, diverse audiences and outlets of live performances. So, understanding live music event success should be an important research subject. However, there is a literature gap in explaining this phenomenon. In the literature, live events are considered as an experience good and experience can take various forms as part of audience research. On the other hand, this study specifically aims to explore the live music events and their sales performance indicators. A sample of 131 live music events, performed at Zorlu Performing Arts Center between the years 2016 and 2018 have been employed for the study. Findings reveal that the brand related variables, distribution related variables and objective features have significant effects on the sales performances of those events.
The impact of economic performance on voting behavior in Turkey
Dynamics of voting behavior and political party preferences have long been an issue of debate. Throughout time, different views and theories about the voting behavior have been analyzed in various research. Today, voters increasingly become aware of their economic and political environment. Thus, factors that affecting the voting behavior has become an important factor for the both political parties and voters. With this background, this study examines economic performance and non-economic performance of incumbent parties and their relationship with the voters' voting behavior in Turkey. The sample includes 659 participants who are active voters in Istanbul, Turkey. Data were gathered from face to face surveys. The impact of control variables such as age, gender, household income, education level and the independent variables such as current economic perception of voters, future economic expectations under the incumbent party rule, non-economic performance the incumbent party and voting factors have been examined in the context of responsibility theory of voting behavior. Findings of the study proves that, in Turkey, voters consider economic factors such as current economic perception and future expectations on their political party preferences and reward or punish the incumbent according to their economic performance.
The access to finance by SMEs in Turkey and the EU: A comparative study
Access to finance is one of the major factors in the growth of Small and Mediumsized Enterprises (SMEs); which comprise 99% of companies in Turkey and the EU and have a large impact on GDP and unemployment. Therefore, this study aims to compare status and changes in the access to finance of SMEs in Turkey and the EU. Additionally, their access to finance is also evaluated according to their associate status, location, business area, exports, liquid assets, and establishment time. In developing the questionnaire used in this survey, some of the questions from the Survey on the Access to Finance of Enterprises (SAFE 2017) conducted in October 2017 on the EU SMEs, were modified. The questionnaire was sent to SMEs in Turkey through KOSGEB (Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises Development and Support Agency (Küçük ve Orta Ölçekli İşletmeleri Geliştirme ve Destekleme İdaresi Başkanlığı)) via e-mail. The responses obtained were compared with the responses from SAFE 2017 using analyses such as chi-square and regression (SPSS). Some key findings are: the second biggest issue for SMEs in Turkey is the access to finance, while this issue is the least important for SMEs in the EU; the increase in availability of financial sources for SMEs in the EU is much larger and they use them mostly for new investments, while SMEs in Turkey use them mostly for inventories; expenses for SMEs in Turkey such as labor and raw material cost increased more, which probably led to a decrease in profit and an increase in debts.
Creating competitive advantage in shrinking markets: The case of the Turkish cement industry
Creating competitive advantage became increasingly important in the Turkish cement industry due to market shrinkage caused by economic downturn in the third quarter of 2018. Product differentiation, pricing, promotion and placing opportunities are generally very limited in the cement industry. As a result, customer experience with cement brands is a key differentiator that generates competitive advantage. The main objective of this study is to analyze and understand customer behavior in the cement market by using Net Promoter Score (NPS) methodology. The empirical information for this study was collected from case company surveys, which were compiled in 2015, 2016 and 2019 with 441 participants in total. Empirical evidence was used to gain insights into the way companies differentiate themselves at the market level on the basis of customer behavior in order to gain competitive advantage. The findings of this study revealed that there was no statistically significant relationship between NPS and company revenues. Additionally, no statistically significant difference was found in the purchasing behaviors of promoters, passives and detractors. However, a positive correlation was observed between NPS and the number of active customers. Furthermore, product and marketing were found to be the main drivers causing customers to recommend the case company.
A multi-criteria market entry model for logistics service providers: A study in numerous industries
Logistics service providers have always been part of a company in terms of distribution, warehousing, and inventory management. In today's world, logistics service providers (LSPs) have become more than that. Increasing competition and importance of cost reduction in supply chain and logistics activities increase the prominence of LSPs, thus LSPs have become major elements instead of backup elements. From organizations' point of view, speed, cost, and flexibility became more substantial since the second half of the 20th century. So, for the purpose of better excellence against competitors, using external resources has become increasingly critical. For this reason, LSP selection is one of the most important processes of companies in the light of increase in outsourcing. In cooperation with LSPs, firms can have important opportunities to reduce their costs and focus on their core businesses. These opportunities lead companies to use LSPs extensively, and different models exist for the LSP selection process based on expectations from LSPs. In literature, LSP selection issue is investigated as a multi-criteria decision-making consideration and many researchers have done studies on this area. The purpose of this study is creating an upgradeable model that contains criteria used by companies while selecting LSPs in order to provide knowledge about all global industries for LSPs managers. Findings gathered from literature review are supported with client contracts information from a LSP company and experiences of logistics service providers' managers.
Global marine insurance premiums and the maritime industry
Maritime transportation and insurance have always been very important two industries for the developments in trade. Many studies have been conducted to analyze the relationship between these industries and global economic indicators. Results obtained from these researches supported the strong connection between the global economic indicators and these two industries. Both maritime and insurance industries are found to follow a cyclical pattern with recurrent upward and downward movements. Many different hypotheses exist about the reason for these cycles. With this background, this thesis aims to reveal cyclical movements in global marine insurance premiums and maritime freight markets, then analyze the relationship between them. With this purpose, three hypotheses, which suggest that maritime freight markets follow a cyclical pattern, marine insurance premiums follow a cyclical pattern and these cycles are positively synchronized, are structured. To test these hypotheses, global marine hull insurance premiums, Baltic Dry Index values, and world merchant fleet volume data for 23 years between 1996 and 2018 is employed. The findings of the study support the cyclical movements in both industries. Cycles in marine insurance and maritime freight markets are found to be in a positive relationship. Unit hull insurance premium cycles have matched BDI cycles with a lag of years. Both hull insurance premiums and BDI showed a common cycle length of 16 years.
Varieties of democracy and economic growth: A panel data analysis
This thesis addresses the question how different democracy varieties affect the economic growth. For the varieties of democracy, the indices of V-Dem Institute are used and the democracies has categorized into five different groups as following: electoral, liberal, participatory, deliberative and egalitarian. With the fixed effect estimation of the regression with Driscoll-Kraay standard errors, panel data for 86 countries over the period from 1960 to 2016 is used. The findings imply that, economic growth have positive correlation with all democracy indices and strongest correlation is with egalitarian democracy. Since electoral democracy index act as basic essential of other democracy indices; add to regressions performed with these indices, the correlations of components without the partial score of electoral democracy index is also analyzed separately. Findings show that participatory, deliberative and egalitarian democracy components are not significant without the essential characteristics of any democracies. As control variables, geopolitical region, trade openness, life expectation and primary schooling are estimated as significant for all democracy variations. However, only for egalitarian democracy, ethnic fractionalization is insignificant in some circumstances. Also, the coefficient of ethnic fractionalization is lowest for the egalitarian democracy. This finding is supportive to following arguments in the literature, democratic regimes tend to manage ethnic fractionalization better and equal distribution has highly important role in this. In consideration of the literature and the findings, it may be said that equal distribution of power and resources likely to reduce the unfavorable effects of ethnic fractionalization on economic growth.
The impact of Travel 2.0 technologies on international tourist arrivals
The aim of the study is to measure the impact of Travel 2.0 technologies on international tourist arrivals. Specifically, there hardly exists comprehensive work in this research area. To address this gap, this study develops a conceptual model and conducts a multiple regression analysis. The international tourist arrivals by country of destination is the dependent variable; whereas, the average monthly visit to DMO's website, the number of reviews and opinions on tripadvisor.com, the number of listed properties on booking.com, and the number of listed tours on viator.com are the independent variables. Results show that Travel 2.0 technologies that are mostly used are reviews and opinions, bookings systems, and the touristic activity listing with a 56.5 percent impact on international tourist arrivals. Additionally, results indicate that there is a positive influence of the number of listed properties on booking.com on the international tourist arrivals by country of destination. This depicts that rich accommodation opportunities can create a direct touristic interest and bookings for the destination. Results also emphasize that tourists give priority respectively to the accommodation facilities and reliable information based on experiences of other travelers rather than websites belonging to the destination or the country's officials, activities and things to do. This research attempts to create a conceptual model linking Travel 2.0 technologies and the international tourist arrivals by country of destination and aims to shed light on future studies in this area.
Influences of COVID-19 on online shopping behavior: A comparative case study
Technological developments and digitalization accelerated the growth of online shopping and increased its market share. The impact of the Covid-19 Pandemic on the e-commerce market and the consumer also acted as a catalyst in online shopping. The purpose of this study is to examine, analyze, and compare the changing online shopping behaviors of people in Turkey and Germany during the COVID-19 Pandemic. For this purpose, academic articles, statistics, and survey methods were used while collecting data. This study reveals significant outputs in terms of determining how people react to online shopping in the event of a social crisis such as a pandemic, thus enabling Turkish retail e-exporter companies to better understand how to react to changes in consumer behavior in Germany while comparing it to consumer behavior in Turkey.
The determinants of consumers' shopping cart abandonment: An empirical research in Turkey
The landscape of commerce has undergone a profound transformation with the exponential rise of E-commerce sales, where products and services are accessed and ordered through online platforms. This digital revolution has been further accelerated by the unprecedented global events surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic, which have compelled individuals to embrace online shopping as an integral part of their daily lives. However, in the midst of this digital transformation, there's a significant problem that stands out: Shopping cart abandonment which is characterized by the act of prospective customers loading their virtual carts with desired items only to exit the transaction process before completing their purchase, stands as a formidable impediment to the revenue-maximizing aspirations of E-commerce companies. This phenomenon has become increasingly prominent, urging businesses to go deeper into understanding its causes and exploring predictive patterns that can illuminate the path to a solution. Within this context, this research aims to provide invaluable insights to empower E-commerce companies, not only in reducing cart abandonment rates but also in enhancing the overall consumer journey. Through this endeavour, the study seeks to chart a course that not only benefits E-commerce businesses but also contributes to the evolution and sustainability of the Turkish E-commerce ecosystem.
Study the foreign trade effects on economic development in some developing countries including Iran and Turkey
This research attempts to study the effect of the indices related to the variables of foreign trade, physical and human capital and energy consumption on the process of economy growth. So, seven selected developing countries during 1990-2011 were studied in the frame of the panel cointegration technique with the approach of the ordinary least square (OLS). The results obtained by the conducted evaluation shows that all of the studied indices during the given time have positive and meaningful effect on the process of the economy growth. Keywords: Foreign trade, economic development, panel cointegration method
Eğitim-tasarruf ilişkisi:Bir uygulama
Son yüzyılda, ülke ekonomilerinin uzun dönemli ve sürdürülebilir bir şekilde gelişmesini değerlendirirken, insani gelişme ve iktisadi büyüme gibi kavramlar öne çıkmaktadır. İnsani gelişme kavramının en önemli ölçütlerin birisi ise eğitimdir. Türkiye, eğitimde geçtiğimiz yüzyıla göre daha hızlı gelişme göstermesine rağmen kendi gelir grubundaki ülkelerin arasında eğitim alanında diğer ülke ortalamalarının altında yer almaktadır. Türkiye'de eğitim sisteminin önemli sorunları ve yetersizlikleri bulunmaktadır. Eğitimde yaşanan iyileşmeler neticesinde daha iyi yetişmiş insan sermayesine sahip olan ülkelerde, toplam üretimin artması ile paralel olarak, kişi başına gelir de yükselmektedir. Gelirlerin artması ise bireylerin, tüketim harcamalarının yanı sıra daha fazla tasarruf etmelerine olanak sağlamakta; bu durum da yatırımların arttırılmasına katkıda bulunarak, verimlilik artışlarını doğurmaktadır. Türkiye, düşük tasarruf oranlarından kaynaklanan tasarruf ve yatırım açıkları ve cari açık ile yüzleşmektedir. Bu tezin temel amacı, Türkiye'de eğitim ile tasarruf arasındaki ilişkiyi değerlendirmektir. "Türkiye'de eğitim ile tasarruf arasında bir ilişki vardır." hipotezi, oluşturulan ampirik bir model yardımıyla 1975-2013 yılları arası Türkiye verileri ile çeşitli ekonometrik yöntemler kullanılarak incelenmektedir. Araştırma sonucunda elde edilen bulgular, Türkiye'de uzun dönemde eğitim ile tasarruflar arasında pozitif ve eğitimden tasarruflara doğru bir ilişkinin varlığını göstermektedir. Kısa dönemde ise böyle bir ilişkinin varlığına rastlanmamıştır.
E-ticaretin ve dolaylı ihracatın Türkiye mermer sektörü ihracat stratejilerine etkisi: Afyonkarahisar ili örneği
Bu çalışmanın amacı ihracat yöntemlerinden e-ticaretin ve dolaylı ihracatın ülkemiz mermer ihracatına etkisinin araştırılmasıdır. Bu amaçla anket hazırlanmış ve Afyonkarahisar ili içerisinde bulunan 40 firma ile görüşmeler yapılmıştır. Yapılan analizler neticesinde e-ticaretin ve aracılar ile ihracat yapmanın firmalar üzerine büyük kazançlar sağladığı tespit edilmiştir. Aynı zamanda firmaların demografik özellikleri ile e-ticaret ve aracılarla çalışma konuları arasında anlamlı farklılıklar bulunmuştur. İhracat yöntemlerinden diğer faktörlerde herhangi bir anlamlı sonuç çıkmamıştır.
Impulse buying behavior: Packaging effects of snack foods
The purpose of this study is to investigate whether the packaging effects of snack foods lead consumers to impulsive buying behavior. It is becoming progressively difficult in today's world to attract the attention of consumers in the ever changing and evolving product categories. It therefore becomes necessary to attract the consumers' attention in order to keep the products in the market and to increase the purchase amounts. How do the products that we contact with our eyes or hands on the shelves everyday attract us? The most obvious answer to this is the difference in packaging. The packaging which is considered as silent seller attracts attention with their visuals and takes place in the consumer's memory. In the next purchase the consumer exhibits a familiar attitude for the product. A sense of awareness may lead the consumer to buy the product, even if s/he does not need it. In addition, the products' packaging may lead the consumer to impulsive buying behavior. The many different features of the packaging may appeal to different consumer groups or different consumers' wants and needs and this in turn, exhibits itself in impulsive buying behavior. The study used survey method with 174 participants to investigate the packaging effects on impulsive buying behavior. According to the results of the statistical analysis, factors which are "packaging effects of snack foods, consumer's mood and functions of snack foods packaging" influence the impulse buying behavior of the consumers. Key words: impulse buying behavior, packages, packaging effects, snack foods.