Entrepreneurship and Sustainability Issues is a peer-reviewed international issue which publishes original research articles. http://jssidoi.org/jesi/ 2026-03-09T09:41:53+00:00 Author https://www.jssidoi.org/articles/articles/view/1417 2026-02-17T00:00:00+00:00

B2C e-commerce companies are increasing in number due to the significant benefits e-logistics provides, boosting profits and improving customer satisfaction. Moreover, the COVID-19 pandemic increased demand for online shopping due to lockdowns and safety concerns. Despite this, several B2C companies entering the field eventually leave due to inefficient handling of returned products and ineffective reverse e-logistics systems. This article identifies recent methods to improve Reverse Logistics performance for B2C e-commerce firms. The methodology is based on literature review, synthesis, DELPHI, and multi-scoring survey methods. The results showed that management, quality management, organisational structure and culture, IT, customer satisfaction and service, employees, and infrastructure are factors with a direct effect on REL's performance, and this study suggests methods to improve these factors.

Author https://www.jssidoi.org/articles/articles/view/1416 2025-11-27T00:00:00+00:00

The present research is dedicated to the good practices of using artificial intelligence (AI) in the overall process of digitalization of higher education. The major objective is to identify good practices used so far by the universities in implementation of AI tech-nologies in their everyday life for educational and administrative needs. At the same time, our additional goal is to understand the expectation of students for further implementation of AI in universities. We developed our research in 2 main stages: first one – collection and identification of good practices of universities with AI and digitalization and second one – dedicated to students’ expectations. We conducted 25 interviews with representatives of 18 Bulgarian universities, responsible for digitalization. Second one was to provide survey among students (n=254). Our findings reveal that digitalization is defined as one of the leading priori-ties for universities; the major part of universities have specific strategic document devoted to digitalization. Several challenges are outlined for the smooth digitalization: lack of sufficient resources (including financial, administrative capacity etc.); unwell prepared infrastructure (including lack of common vision for the different systems used so far within the university); emergence of various types of resistance (both in academic and administrative staff) etc. Big advantage for universities using AI is seen in improved quality of the educational process (including introduction of new educational perspectives trough new technologies), improved administrative service, improved public image which is considered to reflect to increased number of potential candi-dates.

Author https://www.jssidoi.org/articles/articles/view/1415 2026-02-10T00:00:00+00:00

This article examines the evolving relationship between politics and security in an era characterised by increasing power rivalry, multipolar competition, and strategic uncertainty. The author argues that contemporary security dynamics can no longer be understood within traditional state-centric or purely military frameworks, as power is increasingly exercised through economic interconnectedness, technological control, regulatory influence, and informational superiority. It employs an interdisciplinary approach, drawing from security studies, international relations, and political theory, to analyse how globalisation has transformed security into a competitive and perpetually contested domain. Particular attention is paid to the European Union, which currently faces the dual challenge of heightened external vulnerability and internal pressure to preserve its normative identity. In this context, the author examines the concept of European strategic autonomy as a response to weaponised interdependence and hybrid forms of power, critically assessing its limits and contradictions. Through the reconceptualisation of power, authority, and competition, the article contributes to ongoing theoretical discourse on European security and offers a nuanced framework for understanding security governance in a transforming global order.

Author https://www.jssidoi.org/articles/articles/view/1414 2026-02-15T00:00:00+00:00

The growing complexity of global supply chains and the increasing integration of regional economies have elevated the role of logistics as a critical link between production and consumption. Forwarding and warehousing services, as core components of logistics operations, face continuous challenges related to operational efficiency, service quality, and coordination. This study aims to develop an integrated model to enhance the performance and interconnectivity of forwarding and warehousing services. The research is based on a multi-stage methodology, combining theoretical analysis of logistics integration, identification of critical operational factors, and the construction of a systemic model framework. Key tasks include examining interdependencies between forwarding and warehousing, analysing operational challenges, and designing a model that optimises service quality, cost efficiency, and reliability. The resulting integrated model provides a structured approach to improving logistics service coordination and offers practical recommendations for implementation in real-world supply chain environments. This study contributes to both logistics theory and practice by offering a comprehensive framework for forward-looking management of forwarding and warehousing services, supporting more resilient and efficient supply chains.

Author https://www.jssidoi.org/articles/articles/view/1413 2026-02-15T00:00:00+00:00

The construction of the European Union's "digital single market" faces a paradox: improved availability of digital public services and infrastructure coexists with lagging uptake of mandatory digital administrative and compliance procedures by small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Based on the European Interoperability Framework (EIF), this article reconstructs interoperability across different national legal jurisdictions and administrative systems as a market access condition and advocates for the proposal of "Institutional Middleware" as an interpretive mechanism to reveal how digital legality generates operational barriers and process inefficiencies at the legal/organisational level. Methodologically, this article adopts multi-source evidence design: firstly, we build the "Adoption Gap" index to quantify the gap between government service availability and enterprise usage rates; secondly, we combine e-government obstacle data and enterprise digital intensity index to identify the disproportionate compliance burdens on SMEs; finally, we verify the implementation efficiency of institutional tools through the hierarchical mapping of funds, standards and procurement rules and urban cases. The study found that the fixed cost of adapting internal workflows to external regulatory standards constitutes a hidden barrier for SMEs. The contribution of this article is to advance the perspective of institutional Middleware and to demonstrate how the EU can encapsulate compliance complexity into a reusable public infrastructure through policy combination, thereby providing large-scale institutional conditions for a sustainable entrepreneurial ecology.