"Scientific research" Almanac

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  E-COMMERCE IN INSURANCE – A FACTOR FOR INCREASING THE COMPETITIVENESS OF INSURANCE COMPANIES

  The study presents the results of an empirical study of electronic commerce in insurance, conducted in 2013. The authors argue that the successful implementation of electronic sales in insurance streamlines and improves customer service in the sector. In addition, it reduces the costs, and the price respectively, of insurance policies and ... The study presents the results of an empirical study of electronic commerce in insurance, conducted in 2013. The authors argue that the successful implementation of electronic sales in insurance streamlines and improves customer service in the sector. In addition, it reduces the costs, and the price respectively, of insurance policies and increases their competitiveness in the market. Proving the thesis statement is achieved through solving the following major tasks: - the extent to which insurance companies in Bulgaria use e-commerce is demonstrated through systematized and analyzed data; - the dynamics of development of electronic commerce and the structure of sold on-line insurance products are tracked; - expected benefits of sales realization due to the use of e-commerce by insurers are outlined. It is found out that the companies in Non-life Insurance industry use e-commerce as a promising and convenient way of making purchases and sales of insurance policies and as an important tool to enhance their competitiveness.

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  INFORMATION SECURITY IN BULGARIAN E-COMMERCE SYSTEMS

  The provision of information security is one of the greatest challenges that modern information and communication technologies face. To solve the problems in this area it is necessary to perform a complete and profound analysis of all real and potential threats and, on this basis, to choose and develop a complete solution. The object of study are ... The provision of information security is one of the greatest challenges that modern information and communication technologies face. To solve the problems in this area it is necessary to perform a complete and profound analysis of all real and potential threats and, on this basis, to choose and develop a complete solution. The object of study are the e-commerce systems in the Bulgarian business organizations and the subject of study are the policies, strategies, approaches, methods, techniques and technologies to achieve a high level of security of these systems. The main goal of this study is to prove the thesis statement that effective protection in e-commerce is multi-layered and the new technologies, policies and procedures, laws and industry standards have to be taken into account. The tasks to achieve the goal include: presenting the results of a survey of the current state of e-commerce systems security in the Bulgarian business organizations; defining the problems of information security in e-commerce systems; and presenting a strategy and technology to counter these threats.

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  ASSESSING MARKETING EFFECTIVENESS – PROBLEMS AND POSSIBLE SOLUTIONS

  The issues related to marketing effectiveness and linking marketing to a firm’s financial results have been very popular in the economic literature in the past two decades. In this study we try to systemize the accumulated knowledge in this area. We define some methodological problems concerning marketing effectiveness assessment. Based on the ... The issues related to marketing effectiveness and linking marketing to a firm’s financial results have been very popular in the economic literature in the past two decades. In this study we try to systemize the accumulated knowledge in this area. We define some methodological problems concerning marketing effectiveness assessment. Based on the data accumulated we define the category of marketing effectiveness and outline its manifestations. We argue that marketing effectiveness assessment has to be done in different ways according to the assessment object – a separate marketing campaign or a marketing activity as a whole. We propose to use ‘Return on Marketing Investments’ (MROI) for assessing a single marketing campaign, and the change in the marketing assets – for assessing the marketing effectiveness as a whole (marketing strategy). General models for the two types of assessment are proposed.