Problems of Economics and Law

Chatbots in brand personification – building customer relationships through an Agile approach

2025-05-12T09:40:30+02:00

In the face of the high dynamics of the market and changing consumer expectations, businesses are compelled to continuously adapt their marketing strategies in order to effectively build and maintain long-term relationships with customers. In this context, Agile Marketing is gaining prominence, emphasizing flexibility, iteration, and rapid adaptation to changing market conditions. One of the key tools supporting this methodology is chatbots, which not only automate customer interactions but also contribute to creating a personalized and engaging user experience.

The objective of this study is to analyze the impact of chatbots on the process of brand personification within the Agile approach. As indicated by the academic discourse, chatbots utilizing artificial intelligence and machine learning enable brands to conduct real-time interactions, tailoring messages to the individual needs of consumers. Consequently, they enhance the brand personification process by endowing the brand with more “human” characteristics, such as responsiveness, authenticity, and the ability to understand customer needs. This aligns with the principles of Agile Marketing, which emphasize continuous testing, communication adjustments, and the optimization of marketing efforts based on real data and audience reactions.

The considerations presented in this paper are based on a literature review methodology and contribute to the academic discussion on brand personification, building brand–consumer relationships, the role of advanced technologies in corporate communication strategies, and the application of Agile methodology in marketing. The gathered insights can support effective brand management in the digital era.

The impact of local exchange rate fluctuations and commodity prices on the trade balance of ECOWAS countries

2025-08-22T16:58:39+02:00

The article is an attempt to identify the impact of depreciation of the local currency and growth of the prices of selected commodities on the trade balance inside the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). For this purpose, multiple regression method with lags was used, which included quantitative and dummy variables. Both the general model and the isolated models were constructed for the selected countries belonging currently or in the past to the ECOWAS. For the two-stage selection of variables, graph analysis was used, whereas the models were checked in terms of meeting the assumptions of linear regression. The results showed that the changes of commodity prices influence the trade balance to a higher degree than the fluctuations of commodity prices, although both of these relationships have a form of negative correlation. The negative influence of these factors on the balance of trade is related to higher import costs, deepened by the unfavourable commodity structure of trade in the ECOWAS countries. Furthermore, there appear to be no significant differences in this matter between current and former organisation members. This indicates a limited significance of the economic factors in creation of The Alliance of Sahel States, the alternative regional organisation to ECOWAS.

Social expenditure in European Union countries

2025-06-09T11:04:36+02:00

Purpose of the article: The aim of the research was to identify the occurrence of convergence between the social needs and possibilities of the European Union countries and the implemented social expenditure. In addition, the specific aim is to establish a ranking of the European Union countries in terms of the amount of implemented expenditure on social purposes and the place of Poland in this ranking.

Material and methods: The research material was obtained from the websites of the Central Statistical Office and Eurostat. The linear correlation coefficients were calculated between the amount of expenditure on social purposes and the poverty risk indicator, between the amount of expenditure on social purposes and the amount of GDP per capita in PPS, and between the amount of GDP and the share of social expenditure in GDP and between the amount of the poverty risk indicator and the share of social expenditure in GDP. Additional study of the grouping of EU countries based on their correlation profiles using cluster analysis.

Results and conclusions: The social expenditure implemented by individual European Union countries was strongly diversified. The highest expenditure per capita was recorded in Luxembourg, and the lowest in Bulgaria. In this respect, the division into the richer – old EU member states and the less affluent countries of Central and Eastern Europe was clearly visible. In Poland, one of the lowest expenditures was implemented in terms of amounts. The implemented expenditures showed a strong correlation with the resilience of the economy, measured by the level of gross domestic product (correlation coefficient 0.78) and a weak correlation with social needs measured by the poverty risk indicator (correlation coefficient −0.27), which indicates a greater importance of the ability of individual countries to implement social expenditures than of social needs themselves.