Ing. Dávid Vrtaňa, PhD.

Courses taught:

Education and academic development:
PhD. – Internal doctoral studies, University of Žilina, Faculty of Operation and Economics of Transport and Communications, field of study 6213 Economics and Management, dissertation title: The Impact of Corporate Marketing Communication on Irrational Consumer Purchasing Behaviour, 2021.
Ing. – University of Žilina, Faculty of Management Science and Informatics, field of study: Information Management, master's thesis title: Motivation as a Function of Personality and a Key Factor in Human Potential Development, 2017.

Research focus:
Ing. Dávid Vrtaňa, PhD.'s research interests include marketing, marketing communication, strategic marketing management at the level of business and public entities, as well as the impact of neuromarketing on consumer purchasing behaviour and decision-making. His professional profile was shaped during his doctoral studies at Faculty PEDAS, University of Žilina, where he completed doctoral studies in Business Economics and Management. His research activity cuts across purchasing behaviour, the branding process, marketing communication, and neuromarketing. He seeks to pass on his professional experience and skills to students by supervising bachelor's and master's theses. He has participated in the solution of several research projects within the VEGA and KEGA schemes. He has also participated, and continues to participate, in the solution of structural projects. In 2012, within the project Behavioural Model of Corporate Change Management in Relation to Building Competitiveness in a Market Economy, he received an award for the most popular scientific poster. He is a co-author of more than twenty original scientific papers, most of which have been published in foreign peer-reviewed journals or as outputs from international scientific conferences. Among the most significant journals in his field in which he has published his outputs are Journal of Competitiveness, Administrative Sciences, Strategic Change – Briefings in Entrepreneurial Finance, and Business – Theory and Practice. His work has received more than 200 citations.

He currently works at the Department of Economics as an assistant professor. During his work at the Department of Economics, he teaches seminars and exercises in the following courses: marketing, marketing communication, strategic marketing, company management, final thesis.

Most significant pedagogical outputs:

Vrtaňa, D., Križanová, A., Nádanyiová, M. (2024). Základy marketingu. EDIS Žilina, 2024, 192 p. ISBN 978-80-554-2118-6
Gogolová, M., Križanová, A., Vrtaňa, D. (2022). Praktikum z ekonomiky podniku. EDIS Žilina: University of Žilina, 2022, 119 p. ISBN 978-80-554-1915-2

Most significant scientific publications:

Vrtana, D., & Duricova, L. (2026). Generational and Economic Differences in the Effectiveness of Product Placement: A Predictive Approach Using CART Analysis. Administrative Sciences, 16(2), 39. (2026: Q2 – JCI, JIF, Scimago, Q3 – AIS, author's share – 50%). https://doi.org/10.3390/admsci16020061

Dushi, S., Naulleau, M., Skeja, A., Zmokhol, F., & Vrtana, D. (2026). Artificial Intelligence in Strategic Decision-Making: How Fairness Risk, Trust, and Technical Capabilities Shape Organizational Performance. Strategic Change – Briefings in Entrepreneurial Finance. (2026: Q1 – JIF, JCI, Scimago, Q2 – AIS, author's share – 30%). https://doi.org/10.1002/jsc.70099

Vrtana, D., Rosnerova, Z., & Krizanova, A. (2025). Managerial decision-making in the process of managing corporate changes in Slovak production enterprises in the context of strengthening competitiveness. Journal of Competitiveness, 17(2), 20. (2025: Q1 – JCI, JIF, Scimago, Q3 – AIS, author's share – 70%). https://doi.org/10.7441/joc.2025.02.01

Vrtana, D., & Krizanova, A. (2023). The importance of selected tools of the marketing communication on the irrationality of purchasing behaviour. Transnational Marketing Journal, 11(1), 237–250. (2023: Q4 – Scimago, author's share – 60%). https://doi.org/10.58262/tmj.v11i1.1016

Kusa, A., Belickova, P., Vrtana, D., & Krizanova, A. (2023). The Impact of Visual Product Communication on Customer’s Irrational Buying Behaviour. European Journal of Media, Art and Photography, 11(2), 106–115. (2023: Q3 – AIS, Q1 – JCI, author's share – 25%). https://doi.org/10.34135/ejmap-23-02-06

Final thesis topics:

Scientometric data:

Projects:

NFP401101C526, Innovative Personalized Artificial Intelligence Teaching Assistant for Interactive Education, Effective Teaching, and Comprehensive Learning Support
KEGA 050ŽU-4/2025, Synergy of Education and Practice in Financial Accounting and Taxation through the Development of a Student Accounting and Tax Office – co-investigator
VEGA 1/0469/25, Emergent Approach in Behavioural Economics Focused on Sustainable Purchasing Behaviour through Marketing Management – principal investigator
VEGA 1/0001/26, Research on Indicators and Design of Methods Supporting the Prevention, Diagnosis, and Elimination of Pathological Workplace Relationships in the Context of Their Impact on Company and Individual Performance – co-investigator
VEGA 1/0409/23, Forensic Marketing as a Foundation for Objective Empirical Support of Managerial Decision-Making Processes – deputy principal investigator
VEGA 1/0032/21, Marketing Engineering as a Progressive Platform for Optimizing Managerial Decision-Making Processes in the Context of Current Marketing Management Challenges – co-investigator
VEGA 1/0064/20, Behaviourism in the Socially Responsible Communication Strategy of a Company – co-investigator
VEGA 1/0718/18, Impact of Psychographic Aspects of Pricing on the Marketing Strategy of Companies Across Products and Markets – co-investigator
UNIZA Grant Project 7990, Behavioural Model of Corporate Change Management in Relation to Building Competitiveness in a Market Economy – principal investigator

Additional information:

Member of the organizing committee of the international conference The Migration Conference 2026
Member of the editorial team of the journal Border Crossing