China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) hopes to deliver trillions of dollars in infrastructure financing to Asia, Europe, and Africa. If the initiative follows Chinese practices to date for infrastructure financing, which often entail lending to sovereign borrowers, then BRI raises the risk of debt distress in some borrower countries. This paper assesses the likelihood of debt problems in the 68 countries identified as potential BRI borrowers. We conclude that eight countries are at particular risk of debt distress based on an identified pipeline of project lending associated with BRI.

Because this indebtedness also suggests a higher concentration in debt owed to official and quasi-official Chinese creditors, we examine Chinese policies and practices related to sustainable financing and the management of debt problems in borrower countries. Based on this evidence, we offer recommendations to improve Chinese policy in these areas. The recommendations are offered to Chinese policymakers directly, as well as to BRI’s bilateral and multilateral partners, including the IMF and World Bank. 

In response to the rapid and dynamic changes in the economic environment, companies must improve their processes to maintain competitiveness. This includes enhancing their intellectual capital, with particular emphasis on effective onboarding processes, which play a crucial role in integrating new employees and retaining talent. This enhances the value of the organization’s intellectual capital and emphasizes onboarding—the training and integration of new employees—whose proper functioning impacts staff retention. Drawing on both Hungarian and predominantly foreign literature, we highlight onboarding processes and examine their implementation in Hungarian companies of various sizes. The research employed a mixed-method approach, combining semi-structured interviews and questionnaires. In-depth interviews were conducted with HR leaders from 13 Hungarian organizations to explore the existence of mentoring programs. Additionally, 161 employees across Hungary completed questionnaires, which examined their perspectives on onboarding processes and the relationship between mentoring programs and company size. We analyzed the data using chi-square tests to assess the strength of these relationships. While all large companies in our sample had formal mentoring programs, smaller companies displayed more variability, with some relying on informal or ad-hoc onboarding processes. Based on these results, we identified several key areas for improvement in onboarding processes. These include enhancing the structure of feedback interviews, ensuring more comprehensive communication channels, and strengthening mentoring programs across companies of all sizes. By addressing these gaps, companies can improve employee retention, engagement, and overall integration during the onboarding process, contributing to a more stable and motivated workforce.

At present, states and entire regions that possess significant reserves of sought-after minerals have great potential to maintain and even improve their socio-economic position in the foreseeable future. Since the beginning of 2000, the increase in mining volumes of minerals has been more than 50%; however, more than half of all extracted raw materials fall to only five leading countries: China, the USA, the Russian Federation, Australia, and India. This article presents the results of the analysis of the global structure of mineral production by type and geographic region. The article provides an in-depth analysis of the world’s leading mining companies, identifying the key players in the industry. A comprehensive overview of each company’s performance, including key financial indicators and production statistics, is presented. The main environmental risks as a result of the continued increase in the global scale of mining have been identified. The prospects for the development of the mining sector are shown. The results of the study can be used by the scientific community as an information source.

Purpose: This research paper aims to justify the need for the Quality of Hire (QOH) construct as a value-adding focus for strategic human resource management (SHRM). The traditional focus on efficiency and cost-oriented recruitment metrics overlooks the importance of QOH in providing a competitive advantage and delivering long-term value. The study expands the economic theory of human resource development and develops a profit-building concept relevant to SHRM by exploring the practices that enable QOH in organizations. Design: The study utilizes a case-study method to examine a target firm’s mechanisms to build QOH in its recruitment process. It applies a structuration theory lens to analyze the behavior of various actors, their agencies, and the continuous interplay between structure and action in enabling QOH. Findings: The findings suggest that assessing and building measures for getting QOH is a complex task for organizations due to the inherent reliance on lag measures such as performance and tenure. The study highlights that QOH can be enabled through changes in the firm’s recruitment practices. Originality: This paper contributes to recruitment research in two significant ways. First, it expands on the under-researched construct of QOH, providing clarity on its definition and importance. Second, it identifies lead practices that organizations can incorporate into their recruitment and selection processes to enable QOH. By using a structuration theory lens, the study explores how actors in the recruitment process adapt and align with new structural rules to enable QOH. Research implications: The research builds on the structuration theory in recruitment and selection and exhorts practitioners in organizations to move beyond efficiency-oriented recruitment practices and focus on practices that contribute to QOH. By considering post-hire outcomes, such as job performance and long-term retention, organizations can improve their talent acquisition and retention strategies, creating long-term value for the organizations.

This study explores the integration of data mining, customer relationship management (CRM), and strategic management to enhance the understanding of customer behavior and drive revenue growth. The main goal is the use of application of data mining techniques in customer analytics, focusing on the Extended RFM (Recency, Frequency, Monetary Value and count day) model within the context of online retailing. The Extended RFM model enhances traditional RFM analysis by incorporating customer demographics and psychographics to segment customers more effectively based on their purchasing patterns. The study further investigates the integration of the BCG (Boston Consulting Group) matrix with the Extended RFM model to provide a strategic view of customer purchase behavior in product portfolio management. By analyzing online retail customer data, this research identifies distinct customer segments and their preferences, which can inform targeted marketing strategies and personalized customer experiences. The integration of the BCG matrix allows for a nuanced understanding of which segments are inclined to purchase from different categories such as “stars” or “cash cows,” enabling businesses to align marketing efforts with customer tendencies. The findings suggest that leveraging the Extended RFM model in conjunction with the BCG matrix can lead to increased customer satisfaction, loyalty, and informed decision-making for product development and resource allocation, thereby driving growth in the competitive online retail sector. The findings are expected to contribute to the field of Infrastructure Finance by providing actionable insights for firms to refine their strategic policies in CRM.

In this regard the key factor determining the success of the mining industry is the cost of electricity. By understanding the risks associated with crypto mining industry. The method is based on systemic literature review and bibliometric analysis exploring keyword “bitcoin mining”. This review paper studies 50 papers for the period of 2019–2023. The results propose recommendations for crypto miners. Currently, the results confirm that bitcoin mainly depends on the consumption of inexpensive electricity. Consequently, the bitcoin network predominantly uses energy in regions where it is abundant and cannot be stored or exported. Most miners rely on electricity generated from hydroelectric power plants, geysers and geothermal sources, which are not easy to transport or store. Bitcoin will continue to look for such cost-effective and underutilized energy sources, as mining in urban areas or industrial centers will remain financially unviable. If the price of bitcoin stabilizes and a sufficient number of miners enter the market, it is quite possible that in the near future we may witness a fivefold increase in their energy consumption.