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The purpose of the thesis is to analyze how the automotive manufacturing companies being active in Hungary operate in global value chains, with a particular focus on suppliers. Although the topic of GVC is widespread and discussed in international literature, there is a gap in relation to the Hungarian automotive manufacturing industry, especially in the current situation when the COVID-19 pandemic affects the operation of the multinational enterprises. The main identified research question is the following: What is the value creation of the automotive manufacturing industry in Hungary within global value chain? The research process started with a comprehensive literature review and theoretical background analysis about the GVC concept (including the introduction of ‘Smile-curve’) and FDI investment in Central and Eastern Europe (including the characterization of near-shoring activities) and continued with conducting a sample survey and semi-structured interviews with the key car parts suppliers. Executive board, managerial level and engineers were the target persons both for the survey and for interviews. Based on the literature review, I formulated two hypotheses: 1. The theory of ‘Smile curve’ is also valid in case of the Hungarian automotive manufacturing industry, typically low value-added production processes take place in the country. 2. In addition to the central location, the cheap and skilled Hungarian labour was the most important factor in the near-shoring activities of multinational companies expanding to Hungary. In order to be able to accept or reject the first hypothesis about the relevance of the so called ‘Smile curve’ in the Hungarian automotive manufacturing industry, to define position of the automotive manufacturer companies being active in Hungary in the global automotive manufacturing value chain and to create an in-depth understanding about investment incentives of the Western European firms in the country, I prepared an online survey. To test my second hypothesis about the reasons of near-shoring activity in Hungary, I conducted 3 interviews with industry experts from TIER 1 companies of different size. The targeted automotive parts manufacturers are all suppliers of the 5 OEMs present in Hungary (Audi, BMW, Mercedes, Opel and Suzuki) among others. The new results of the doctoral dissertation are the following: I can reject the first hypothesis about the relevance of ‘Smile curve’ in the Hungarian automotive manufacturing industry, because beside manufacturing activities with low added value typically, also research and development activities take place at bigger multinational companies with higher added value. I can accept the second hypothesis about near-shoring in Hungary, because beside the ‘proximity to export markets’, the cheap but skilled labour was decisive when multinationals decided to invest in the country. The ‘positive support system’, ‘favourable tax conditions’, ‘government policy’ and ‘proximity to HQ’ were aspects that companies used, but they are rather neutral factors. The ‘good infrastructure’ is not so good in the real life and the ‘cheap raw material’ is not cheap, because firms have to deal with world market prices, thus, these were not attractive to investors. Further results about the business operations of the analyzed supplier companies: The purchasing decisions for the Hungarian production happens locally decisively, either independently or with involving the headquarter. The manufactured products are typically drive chains, body parts and electric sensors and the proportion of products designated by OEMs is rather high. Western Europe is the biggest export market of the companies analysed, followed by China, North-America and the Central Eastern European region. Relocation processes are not characteristic of the firms. If so, only from other country to Hungary and it is also determined by OEMs providing new opportunities for them. In some cases, wage costs and logistics also play a role in the relocation process. Electromobility and autonomous driving are the most affecting trends in the automotive manufacturing industry. The semiconductor shortage as a serious downside risk is also the result of the pandemic. The effects of COVID-19 are becoming less pronounced today, but the semiconductor crisis is continuing. Favourable tax conditions and higher value added are the success criteria that will help the Hungarian automotive manufacturing industry to remain competitive in the future. Professional trainings, more support for SMEs and favourable legal conditions are also important aspects. Today, the CEE region, including Hungary is a net exporter of knowledge-intensive goods. To improve its global competitiveness and to be able to move into higher-value-added goods and services, the region should invest more in R&D, infrastructure, education and collaboration between companies and universities. The key players in the automotive part manufacturing has realized that value added is a very important factor in the success of an industry and it can be increased due to investment in research and development and innovation. As revealed by the research, they have already established R&D centers and joint projects with universities (e.g. departments), so companies are well on their way to producing higher added value.

The number of international students enrolled globally have surpassed 4.5 million by 2015 (OECD, 2017) and went above 5.5 million in 2018 (UNESCO 2020). Since there is fierce competition between higher education institutions to attract international students (IIE, 2017), institutions must go beyond providing high academic quality (Borzooei & Asgari, 2014). The dissertation aims to explore and analyse the influence of international students’ motivation for studying abroad on their satisfaction and loyalty towards their host institution. The dissertation also examines the mediating role of acculturation, considering the host country culture, and mediating role of perceived service quality, considering the services provided by the host institution. In the qualitative phase of the research 40 in-depth interviews were conducted with international students between 2018 and 2020, hence the second sampling was already impacted by the pandemic and it was accounted for. Following that, in the quantitative phase, 426 valid responses were collected (via Tempus Public Foundation) from international students studying in Hungary in 2021. The data was analysed with SmartPLS 3 (Ringle et al, 2015) and the results are summarized below. Research question 1 - motivations, satisfaction, and loyalty: based on the PLS path modelling there is a weak, but a significant direct connection between self-determined motivations for studying abroad and satisfaction, and there is a strong and significant direct connection between satisfaction and loyalty. Research question 2 - the mediating role of acculturation: based on the PLS analysis the acculturation (sociocultural adaptation) has a weak partial mediating effect on the relationship between self-determined motivations for studying abroad and satisfaction. The mediation is only partial because the direct connections of the construct were also significant. At the same time, acculturation was a moderately strong partial mediating construct between self-determined motivations for studying abroad and perceived service quality. Based on these partial mediations the importance of the host country culture had been proven. Research question 3 – the impact of culture shock: the path modelling confirmed that there is a moderately strong negative connection between culture shock and acculturation, meaning that a higher level of culture shock resulted in lower level of acculturation (sociocultural adaptation). Research question 4 – the mediating role of perceived service quality: the PLS path modelling analysis showed that perceived service quality had a partial mediating role between self-determined motivations for studying abroad and satisfaction. This finding confirms the importance of the services provided by institutions, and also that perceived service quality can be improved through identifying and managing the motivations of international students. Research question 5 – the impact of demographics, personal characteristics, and personality traits: the PLS path modelling found that international students who prepared more for the differences in teaching style, were more likely to reach a higher level of acculturation. Students who kept in touch with their friends and family daily also reached a higher level of acculturation. In case international students had to make significant sacrifices (Vangelis & Hill, 2019) to be able to study abroad, they were less loyal to the host institution. The satisfaction of international students was negatively moderated by the age group of the students and it was positively moderated by the academic performance of the students confirming the results of Brokaw et al (2004). Control variables such as gender, financial situation, host country choice, prior cultural exposure, program level, host city, program length, program start (pre or during COVID-19), time spent abroad, and the major study area did not moderate the examined relationships. The dissertation provided a synthesis for the extant literature of study abroad motivations, culture shock, acculturation, service quality, satisfaction, and loyalty in the international higher education context. The most important theoretical contribution of the dissertation that it found significant connections between these constructs in a single theoretical framework, providing a holistic view on the study abroad program satisfaction and overall experience. From the practical perspective, institutions must keep in mind that loyal international students are their top supporters when recruiting new international students. Based on the results, HEIs could measure the study abroad motivations, experienced culture shock, acculturation and the service quality perceptions of their students to understand how they could support their intrinsic motivations and acculturation process. By doing so, students will experience a higher level of service quality and satisfaction, which will lead to a loyal group of international students who will be glad to spread positive WOM about the institution.

In our research, we aim to shed light on the role of overdue debt in reinforcing poverty. This not only helps to better understand the dynamics of poverty trap induced by overdue debt but also enhances the rediscussing of current policy tools. Our research is based on data collected with targeted questionnaires in March and April 2019 by the Soreco Research Kft. Data were recorded with a personal question and answer method, by a so-called multi-stage stratified random sampling procedure. The data collection was anonymised and focused on the financial and liquidity decisions of households in small settlements in one of the most disadvantaged counties of Hungary, Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén (BAZ) county. The sample is representative on the level of households living in small settlements. After cleaning the raw data, we have information from 504 households and 1794 individuals. 1196 individuals are of legal age, from whom 179 had overdue debt. We develop a theoretical model inspired by Akerlof (1978), Tirole (2006), and Mukherjee, Subramanian, Tantri (2019) to derive a feasibility condition for market-based debt relief programs. Our empirical analysis aims at investigating the role of overdue debt in creating poverty trap. With the help of statistical analysis and linear probability models we examine the impact of overdue debt on employment, on having a bank account, and on mental- and physical- health based on targeted questionnaires and in-depth interviews in the most disadvantaged regions of Hungary. We controlled for socioeconomic factors (e.g., gender, age, education level, ability to pay) and for settlement and county development indicators. In these regions, a significant part of the society has been the victim of financial exclusion well before the Covid 19 crisis, even under prospering economic conditions. Results: § The theoretical model shows that lenders have no interest to offer payment reductions if non-performing borrowers are few, have small debts, and are difficult to reach. In this situation, poor debtors serve better as deterrents, similarly if we put them into a pillory. § Calibrating model parameters to poor households struggling with overdue debts, we show that this might be the case on our sample, too. § As, in normal economic circumstances, private debt relief programs are typically not feasible, a state subsidy would be needed to consolidate the debts of the poor. State intervention can be justified both by positive externalities and moral considerations. § We find that many borrowers hide from debt collection as a consequence of overdue debt that has escalated to an unbearable level due to penalty rates. These borrowers are following the hiding strategy and take their decisions accordingly: to avoid deductions, they do not apply for registered jobs, do not open bank accounts and consequently, they are forced to live under constant stress. § To sum up the impact of overdue debt on social inclusion factors and according to our estimations, overdue debts reduce the likelihood of having a registered job by nearly 14 percentage points. Not having a registered job reduces the probability of owning a bank account by 22 percentage points and, in addition, overdue debts further decrease the probability by 5 percentage points. In addition, overdue debt also has a negative effect on the health of those living in the same household as the debtor, and this negative effect is greater than what a combined high school diploma and diploma could compensate for (0.4 versus 1.08-0.72 = 0.36). § Overdue debt, therefore, leads to a certain type of debt-trap mechanism resulting in significant loss for both the individual and the society. In this light, policy makers should pay more attention to addressing credit cycles and resolving non-performing debt obligations, especially in this fragile part of the society.

A környezeti, társadalmi és gazdasági rendszerek fenntarthatóságának szavatolása jelentős kihívás elé állítja korunk társadalmát. A klímaváltozás mérséklésére 2016-ban megkötött párizsi egyezmény vagy az ENSZ által tágabban értelmezett környezeti és társadalmi feszültségek kezelésére 2015-ben definiált Fenntartható Fejlődési Célok (SDG) mind azt igazolják, hogy a kérdéskör napjainkra megkerülhetetlenné vált. A disszertáció célja, hogy vállalati keretek között megbecsülje a fenntarthatóságért tett lépések gazdasági hatásait. Az érintett elmélet szerint ahhoz, hogy a vállalkozások elérjék céljaikat, figyelemmel kell legyenek az érintettjeik széles körére, így a vevőikre, munkavállalóikra, helyi közösségekre, a tulajdonsokra vagy éppen a környezetre. A „trade-off” hipotézis pártfogói viszont azzal érvelnek, hogy a vállalatok ilyen jellegű erőfeszítései nem térülnek meg, éppen ellenkezőleg, többletköltséget eredményeznek az externáliák internalizálása okán. A fenntarthatóság kérdésköre valamennyi érintett szempontjából vizsgálható, azonban a disszertáció a részvényesekre összpontosít, és a következő kérdést veti fel: lehetéséges-e fenntartható vállalati gyakorlatokkal növelni az eredményességet? Másképpen fogalmazva, érvényre juthat-e a nemzetközi szakirodalomban gyakorta hangoztatott „doing well while doing good” koncepció? Amennyiben igen, akkor a befektetők mint befolyásos érintettek, jelentősen hozzájárulhatnak a fenntartható gazdasági növekedéshez. A fenntarthatóság részvényesi hozzáadott értékre gyakorolt hatását számos módon lehet vizsgálni. Az elemzés kiterjedhet a számviteli jövedelemezőségre, majd arra a kérdésre, hogy miképpen árazzák a piacok a fenntarthatóságot; végül meghatározható a befektetők kockázattal korrigált esetleges többlethozama. A disszertáció ez utóbbit kívánja górcső alá venni. A befektetési szakirodalomban az ESG a vállalatok környezeti, társadalmi és vállalatirányítási jellemzőit testesíti meg. A gyakorlatban számos ESG-tudatos befektetési stratégia létezik a kizáró szűréstől a részvényesek közvetlen részvételéig. Az értékezés ezek közül kettőre koncentrál, az ESG integrált alapú megközelítésére és az ESG-tematikájú befektetésekre. Az ESG integráció rendkívül népszerű, hiszen az ekképpen kezelt globális összvagyon meghaladja a 17.500 milliárd dollárt, míg a tematikus befektetések az elmúlt 6 évben az összes stratégia közül a legnagyobb, 1.200 százalékos növekedést produkálták. Az integrált ESG megközelítés E, S és G minősítésekre támaszkodik, és minden vállalkozás a következő portfóliók valamelyikébe sorolható: vezetők (leaders), követők (followers), lemaradók (loungers), leszakadók (laggards) és nem minősítettek (not rated). A tematikus portfóliók SDG-kel kapcsolatos kihívásokra összpontosítanak. A vízhiány kezelése, az idősödő társadalom, a kiberbiztonság egy-egy példáját jelentik az E, S és G megatrendekbe (MT) sorolt kilenc elemzett befektetési témának. Módszertani szempontból a disszertáció a faktorportfóliók technikáját alkalmazza; jelen esetben az ESG portfóliókban szereplő részvények súlyai és hozamai kibővített Fama-MacBeth keresztmetszeti regressziókból származnak. A portfólióösszeállítás összesen 100 különféle befektetési stílus, iparág és ország zavaró másodlagos hatását szűri ki. Az elemzett adatbázis nagyságára jellemző, hogy több, mint 15 millió adatpontot tartalmaz. A hozamok idősoros elemzése Fama-French (FF) jobb oldali megközelítését (RHS) alkalmazza, amely egyszerre képes teljesítményértékelésre és az ESG mint esetleges új faktor azonosítására. Az értékezés számos módon járul hozzá a fenntarthatóság pénzügyi szakirodalmához. Mindenekelőtt – a szerző legjobb tudomása szerint – a befektetési szakirodalomban korábban még nem alkalmazták az érintett elmélet „szervezeti” és „globális” fenntarthatóságot megkülönböztető elméleti koncepcióját. Ezenkívül, a disszertáció ismerteti a megatrend koncepciót, illetve a részvénykiválasztás folyamatába integrálja a jelzéselméletet. A megatrendkitettség mérésére innovatív matematikai formulát vezet be. Az RHS megközelítés alkalmazása ugyancsak újdonság az ESG területén. Az ESG-tematikájú befektetések jelenleg még alulkutatottak, lévén, hogy újkeletűek. Végül, az adatbázis egyedi és széleskörű, ami alkalmassá teszi az ESG tiszta teljesítményének a megragadására. Az empirikus elemzés több figyelemre méltó eredménnyel szolgál. Hosszabb távon a vezető ESG és a tematikus portfóliókba történő befektetésekkel legalább a kockázatoknak megfelelő hozamot lehetett realizálni. Az ESG integráció során invertált U kapcsolat tapasztalható, vagyis érvényesült a csökkenő hozadék elve. Az exogén sokként értelmezhető COVID-19 járvány alatt azonban nem nyert bizonyítást a minőségbe menekülés elve, ami ellentétes a szakirodalom megállapításaival. Végezetül, az eredmények nem igazolták vissza az ESG új faktorként történő alkalmazhatóságát a FF faktormodellekben. Az értekezés alapján az alábbi gyakorlati következtetések tehetők. A befektetők hozzájárulhatnak az SDG-k teljesüléséhez, anélkül, hogy elesnének a vállalt kockázatoknak megfelelő hozamtól. Hozzávetőlegesen 50 bázispontos tranzakciós költséghányadig nincs hozamáldozat, vagyis a befektetők oldaláról jogos igény jelentkezik a költségek csökkentésére. A tematikus befektetések összhangban vannak az EU Taxonómia rendeletével. A faktor portfóliók ESG indexként alkalmazhatók, azaz a segítségükkel – összhangban az SFDR elvárásaival – felmérhetővé válnak a fenntarthatósági szempontok hozamokra gyakorolt hatásai. Végezetül, az ESG nem csodaszer kedvezőtlen piaci körülmények között; vagyis érdemes lehet más stratégiákkal kombinálni.

How do the main elements and actors shaping women’s rights at the macro, mezzo and micro levels relate to each other during different periods of crisis, in different circumstances, and how does the traditional division of gender roles influence decision-makers in approaching the question of gender equality? Would a greater inclusion of women in decision-making reinforce democracy building and overwrite the division of gender roles? To answer the research questions a qualitative case-study research design was applied to compare the evolution of women’s rights in Morocco and Tunisia from independence until the present day with a special focus on the post-Arab Spring period and the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. Incorporating both inductive and deductive methods and examining the link between a cause or a set of causes and the outcome, process tracing was chosen as the qualitative analysis methodology. In addition to the survey and the evaluation of primary and secondary sources, the dissertation collected data from twenty interviews conducted with women’s rights activists and representatives of different NGOs from Morocco and Tunisia, while also setting up the researcher’s own datasets from the empirical analysis. The new results of the dissertation can be summarised as follows: • Building on a novel methodology the dissertation applies a complex framework that takes into consideration actors, elements and their interactions at the macro (international conventions), mezzo (decision-makers, states) and micro (non-state actors) levels. The conduct of interviews enriched the quality of the research, especially in the context of the pandemic which urged the researcher to apply alternative methods and reach representatives and activists online. In addition, based on previously unseen data interviews helped the researcher to arrive at new results. • Based on the analysis of the functioning of the government and the interviews, the dissertation proves that the absence of responsibility from the leadership leads to general disappointment among local people towards decision-makers. This anarchical situation reinforces the recognition of women’s rights NGOs that in some regions quasi fill the position of the government. • The Arab Spring and the pandemic established a quite favourable environment for civil society to play a more active role and exert pressure on decision-makers. However, the socioeconomic conditions (political turmoil in Tunisia, foreign indebtedness, the increase in the unemployment rate) overwrote initial expectations and did not allow the actors to fully exploit the new opportunities. • The Arab Spring brought about the re-emergence of Islamists, the consequences of which were most apparent from the point of women’s rights in Tunisia where school dropouts significantly increased. • The interviews proved that the evolution of women’s rights in Morocco and Tunisia does not exclusively depend on traditions and cultural norms but on the level of education. Statistical indicators also proved this result which explains why Tunisia has always been ahead of Morocco in terms of the development of women’s rights. • Contrary to the general perception, the interviews proved that the solidarity among women’s rights NGOs is more apparent in the marginalized regions of Morocco and Tunisia.