ABSTRACT. The paper analyses and evaluates the policies of the National Bank of Romania and the European Central Bank in the last two decades to assess their effectiveness, relevance and coherence with regard to the main policy objectives. Did the policy instruments produce the envisaged impacts? Have these policies addressed the policy needs properly? In dealing with these questions the paper takes into account the different macroeconomic contexts. Romania has suffered in the last decades from structural deficits of the current account and of the government budget balance as well as from structural depreciation of the currency and reduction of the population. Against this background the paper studies the changes that are necessary regarding the National Bank of Romania before Romania becomes a member of the Euro Area established in 1999. Finally the implications of euro adoption for the Romanian economy and the National Bank of Romania are explored. Kolodziejak and Postma (2023) have presented a series of arguments that are used by Romanian economic institutions and economists for postponing euro adoption for a long time. This happens despite the fact that according to the EU Treaty every Member State is supposed to join the euro area as soon as possible to avoid unfair competition on the Internal market and has only a temporary derogation for not doing so. It is concluded that favourable effects of euro adoption can be expected for the Romanian economy, the National Bank of Romania and last but not least for the Romanian citizens. The latter have been proponents of euro adoption since the EU accession of Romania.

ABSTRACT. In the context of globalization and the harmonization of economic activities and considering the diversity of branches of applicability, economic activity is the most extensive and complex social science, without which a country cannot evolve. The progress and vigor of the economy take place, in a broad sense, through the proper functioning of the activity of all public and private entities in a country, and, in a narrow sense, with the help of one of the most important activities carried out within the economy, namely financial intermediation. Financial intermediation is mainly carried out within the financial system. The most important component of the financial system, due to its complexity, is the banking system. Among other functions, the banking system also holds the function of financial intermediary, which gives it a primary role in the allocation and distribution of capital resources, thus ensuring an essential contribution to the country's economic growth. The banking system must present itself as a stable, consolidated system, with a level of liquidity and solvency according to the legal requirements regulated by a competent authority, usually the Central Bank. Credit institutions are part of the banking system and are meant to ensure the financial stability of a country. Thus, this research work is intended to identify, on the one hand, through the method of critical analysis, what were the effects of the abrupt increase in the consumer price index and what were the measures to counteract this uncontrolled increase in prices on the domestic banking system and the European one and, on the other hand, by the statistical modeling of the profitability indicators of the aforementioned banking systems, which were the results of human decisions to keep the banking system stable and shape a favorable fate for the country from an economic point of view.

ABSTRACT. Monetary policy has had perhaps the most controversial definition and evolution over time, starting from maintaining the target of the gold standard, to creating a regulated set of measures and strategies by which the competent monetary authorities fulfill their main objective of keeping price stability. In Romania, the authority responsible for fulfilling this fundamental objective, but also for establishing, developing and implementing the monetary policy strategy and the set of necessary instruments, is the National Bank of Romania. Considering the magnitude of the inflationary phenomenon in recent years, the Central Bank acted promptly and made several changes to monetary policy decisions. Therefore, this research paper involves an econometric analysis to answer the question "To what extent does the level of the consumer price index influence monetary policy decisions?". To answer this question and to identify the positive and negative effects brought by the sudden change of monetary policy decisions we created a binomial econometric model with five variables, namely, a dependent variable, represented by the consumer price index, and four independent variables, represented by the monetary policy interest rate, the lending facility interest rate (lombard), the interest rate on the deposit facility and the exchange rate of the average Eur foreign exchange market (EUR/RON). The methodology of the research work is mixed because this work aims, on the one hand, to verify the inflationary phenomenon, which ranks this work in terms of character as an empirical research based on qualitative and comparative analysis, and on the other hand, to econometrically model the relevant indicators in accordance with the chosen theme, which leads this paper from the perspective of the nature of the research towards a quantitative, test research.

ABSTRACT. 15 years after the last global financial and banking crisis, the international banking system is facing a new challenge. Taking into account the excessive injection of liquidity, following the context of the Covid19 pandemic in 2020 and the financial challenges generated by the outbreak of the war in Ukraine in 2022, the global economy is going through a period of excessive inflation, marked by the vulnerabilities of some world-class banks. In this context, all the spotlights are on the central banks of the major countries of the world and their actions to stop inflation, but also to support the banking sector with liquidity, two types of actions having antithetical results. The purpose of this paper is to analyze, individually and in comparison, the actions generated in the current world context by the Federal Reserve System, the People's Bank of China, the European Central Bank and the Bank of Japan. Following the comparative and critical analysis carried out, I noticed the same procyclical way of managing monetary policy, and a repetition of some components of the pattern of actions before and after the crisis of 2008. I will highlight the similarities and differences between the different actions of monetary policy, but also the challenges concerning the bankruptcy of Syllicon Valley Bank, the takeover of Credit Suisse and the financial difficulties of Deuche Bank, and how central banks handled these crisis situations. I highlighted in the conclusions the high degree of disruption of the world banking and financial market, and how action could be a better solution in crisis conditions than re-action, because the possibility of correction is limited, and generates also a lot of side effects.

ABSTRACT. This article analysis how digitization has influenced the financial services sector, focusing on the rise of FinTech and its significance. The financial services sector has experienced development and new business endeavors as a result of digitization, with FinTech playing a critical role in the development of both the service and product portfolios of banking institutions. A few of the adjustments generated by digitization involve the emergence of new components within the supply chain and the removal of traditional agents. The importance of RegTech, which entails using information technology to monitor, report, and follow guidelines, is emphasized in the article. The paper examines the political, economic, social, and technical aspects of digitization using the PEST model. The purpose of the research is to provide insight on how global digitalization affects strategic management and advancement in society. Overall, the paper emphasizes the value of innovation and digitalization in the financial industry as well as how they have influenced the development of FinTech.

ABSTRACT. Tone has been widely studied in political science, linguistics and other disciplines and has recently attracted the attention of accounting and finance scholars. By definition, tone is an author’s attitude to the audience and at the same time to the subject of a narrative. This “attitude” can manifest through word choice. Words having the same literal or dictionary meaning will frequently have different subjective or affective meaning. Consequently, word choices made in the construction of a narrative may combine to create one or more dominant tones. Tone is a crucial factor for a firm’s effective communication with its stakeholders. Similar to the readability of corporate disclosures, tone can influence the judgments and decision making of annual report users. Variations in tone have been found to be associated with short-term market reactions and earnings judgments. Our study consists of a textual analysis of non-financial statements with a focus on disclosure tone. We rely on agency theory and social psychology theory as a fundament for our empirical research trying to unveil obfuscation. Obfuscation is the tendency of managers to choose their words so that the readers of annual reports positively perceive the company’s accomplishments or do not fully grasp the reporting company’s negative performance. The study uses a sample of reports as per 2021 published by 42 banks from Europe listed on various stock exchanges. Though they are all non-financial reports, the names under which they have been published varies: sustainability reports, climate reports, responsible and sustainable banking report, TCFD report (TCFD – Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures), non-financial report, or CSR report (CSR – Corporate Social Responsibility). The research contributes to the current debate around the value, relevance and usefulness of non-financial disclosures.

ABSTRACT. The topics of Public Accounting and Public Management are frequently discussed separately in the international scientific literature: aim of the paper is to identify the possible connection themes between the two disciplines. In this perspective, a significant interest can be identified in the concept of standard cost, an abstraction that usually pertains to the profit-oriented private sector. The analysis of standard costs in the public sector originates at the European level from the introduction of the Maastricht Treaty parameters in the 1990s and in particular from the new accounting discipline introduced by the Treaty. The new discipline has been the basis of many accounting reforms that have taken place in the European context which have generated, in some countries, the integration (or in some cases the replacement) of the traditional Cash Basis Accounting (used in the public sector) with the Accrual Basis Accounting (used in the private sector). In order to pursue the declared aim, the paper proposes the following articulation: the Public Accounting dilemma (Accrual Basis Accounting vs. Cash Basis Accounting); the analysis of the different cost variations deriving from the different Public Accounting models; the cost analysis for management control purposes, the determination of the different cost configurations, the derivation of the standard cost and finally, the use of the standard cost as a driver in the reengineering processes implemented by the Public Management. The revision of the organizational models, an activity pertaining to Public Management, represents the solution of the critical issues indicated by the cost analysis - and in particular of the standard cost analysis - implemented by the management control derived from Public Accounting. In this perspective, the concept of standard cost (obtained through the full costing methodology) can be considered the driver of conjunction between Public Accounting and Public Management.

ABSTRACT. At global level, defence expenditure has not been affected by the economic impact caused by the pandemic period. But Russia’s aggression against Ukraine lead to increases in defence expenditure all over the world. Moreover, countries started to allocate more and more public money in this direction from 2020 and the trend will continue in the following years. General government expenditure in the EU on defence amounted to 1.3 % of GDP in 2021. In 2021, Member States spent €248 million on defence Research & Technology projects in cooperation with other EU states, meaning a huge growth in this area, almost 70% compared to 2020. The EDA’s report states that Member States are investing more than ever in the procurement of defence equipment or in research and development. In this context, it would be challenging to analyse literature about military spending. It is a real question: how much the military spending for a country should be? In the defence area the private sector cannot offer a solution for this need. Government must take financial responsibility for maintaining a nation's military. The paper aims, through bibliometric analysis, to examine and map the global literature about defence expenditures. Thus, in addition to identifying the most productive authors, journals, institutions in the field of defence expenditures, we propose to carry out co-authorship, co-citation and co-occurrence analysis in the field. The sample consists of 3346 articles indexed in Web of Science in the period 1960 - 2023 and involves the contributions of 9416 authors, 3113 institutions, 2132 journals from 119 countries. CiteSpace was used for network visualization. The most important contributors to defence expenditure research are Kollias C. author, University of California System, Defence and Peace Economics as publication and the USA as country.

ABSTRACT. Behavioral finance designates a field of study that analyzes the behavior of individuals in general and of investors in particular. More, it follows to look into how decisions are taken in a financial context. The investigation of investor behavior considers a series of approaches that range from traditional finance to modern finance and behavioral finance (and even neurofinance). Nowadays, investors are constantly exposed to a vast amount of information, including quantitative financial data and financial news presented in the media. They can also be influenced by the opinions and recommendations of their peers in the social environment. Processing this information can be a difficult task, and market participants often use heuristics to simplify the process. Although the human brain is capable of learning and adapting, the decision-making process involves complex cognitive, emotional, and motivational factors that must be carefully considered. Therefore, this paper aims to enhance our understanding of the financial decision-making process by exploring multiple perspectives proposed by the literature, including the neuroscientific, psycho-emotional, and cultural ones. By undertaking a holistic approach into understanding financial decision-making, this paper follows to provide insights that could help investors make better-informed decisions in the future. Ultimately, a deeper understanding of the factors that underlie financial decision-making could have far-reaching implications for the field of finance and not only.

ABSTRACT. The coronavirus disease (Covid-19) commenced at the end of 2019, in Wuhan, China. Aforementioned pandemic impacted the economy livelihood and had a lot of negative effects on many economic sectors, including banking. In this background paper, we aimed to measure these effects on Romanian banks that are indexed on the stock exchange. Through the lockdown, the authorities tried to stop the spread of the virus, but regrettably a part of population lost their job permanently or temporarily, or their incomes were reduced alarming. Being faced with such a situation and considering that you also have to cover your basic needs, if you are also in the position where you have one or more loans at the bank, the next question you ask yourself is how will I manage to pay the installment? Event studies were used in this research especially to measure how much the banks were damaged. Event studies use data from the financial market, which gives them a high degree of veracity. They use statistical methods, in which time is dependent variable and then look for variables that explain the duration of an event (or time until an event). The research was done over several years, and the banks included in the research were: Transylvania Bank and BRD - Groupe Société Générale. The stock index used was Bet. Regarding the main methods which were applied we mention: descriptive statistics, time series (e.g. Augmented Dickey Fuller test), least square method, t-statistic test. The test results were positive and consistent with reality. This paper evaluated the major impact of Covid-19 on Romanian banks and was able to give us answers and solutions to countless questions.

ABSTRACT. Max Stirner: at the Origins of Anarchism

ABSTRACT. Organic products have gained considerable attention in recent decades both on the political and consumer agenda. The supply of organic products is growing and these products are becoming part of the regular retail offer in most markets, including Bulgaria. One of the market segments is organic wine, and the range of organic wines in the Bulgarian retail sector is developing, albeit at a slower pace than in more advanced countries. The increase in the number and types of organic products, however, is accompanied by a seemingly odd trend: Bulgarian consumers tend to pay less attention to organic products than to conventional ones. In many cases, consumers do not take organic products into consideration at all. In the field of wine production and trade, organic wines are often sold at low prices, which reflects the views of customers. Neglect of organic products seems to be a potential problem for the marketing of sustainably produced goods and therefore requires additional attention. We explore the attitudes to organic wines of young people in Bulgaria, born in the first decade of the century. The survey is conducted among students of social sciences, who we believe to be a representative sample of the next generation of proactive consumers. The study aims to assess the solidity of their views on organic wines, as well as their propensity to consumption of organic wines. We also look at parallels to consumption of other organic products. Some of the questions relate to previous awareness of organic products, as well as first comparative impressions as new wine consumers.

ABSTRACT. In the years to come, Generation Z will become the main pawn in retail, so brands will have to establish relationships with them, especially since research shows that this segment is much more oriented towards investment and saving than towards consumption. This paper aims to discuss the need for brands to adapt their marketing techniques to these digitally savvy, tech-savvy consumers with high standards for how they spend their time online. This generation of digital natives behaves differently in the buying process, which means adapting brands to their way of life. Online and offline retailers who want to attract this segment of shoppers need to be smart enough to identify what makes them spend or not. It is much more valuable to Gen Zers that brands have a strong identity but also value authenticity, transparency and sustainability. Thus, we will aim to present this generation of young people, their habits and beliefs, the world in which they revolve, their purchasing power, their loyalty to brands, and starting from here we will propose ways to readapt brands and traditional digital marketing practices used to the context brought by a group of critical, demanding consumers who are much more attentive and aware of what they consume. Brand engagement provides some important advantages and allows brands to increase customer retention and loyalty. We will explore the following four pillars that brands should consider when engaging Gen Zers: innovation, price, values, activism.

ABSTRACT. In the last decades sustainability and sustainable development has become one of the most discussed and studied issues by academics and practitioners alike. Among the many issues connected with sustainability is the marketing concept, which has evolved greatly in the last century, from the classical marketing 1.0 to the 5.0 marketing concept, which is based on the idea of using technology to increase the value for the customer. The current paper aims to develop on the idea of sustainable and inclusive marketing, while underlining the general concept of marketing in the current polarization of the society / community. We are considering a brief literature review on the concepts of sustainable and inclusive marketing, while creating an image of the usage of technology by the customers, based on secondary data analysis. Among the article’s main objectives, we will seek to cover the main technological leaps that have been adopted by the marketing practitioners and, will point out the advantages and disadvantages of technology usage for society / community and their marketing impact on the consumers personal, social, and experiential behaviours. While combining the literature and data analysis, we will point out some of the advantages and disadvantages of using a sustainable and inclusive marketing approach and finally we will discuss the issue of the impact the digital world on the idea of effective and sustainable marketing strategies within the current business environment, an environment in which it seems that the consumers have become more and more split in their behaviours, attitudes, beliefs, values and even interests.

ABSTRACT. Organizations join associations such as, for example, Chambers of Commerce or Industry Associations, to gain a wide range of benefits. These benefits include a pooling of resources to gain market power, access to unique resources such as special technologies, advocacy in the local community, lobbying, consulting, legal and other forms of professional expertise, etc. However, these benefits do not always result in readily observable positive outcomes as compared to the objective or perceived resource investments, such as the monetary costs of membership fees or the effort and time investment through participation in the association’s events. Such value judgements may result in lower commitment to the association and ultimately discontinued memberships. An association which loses members becomes weaker and less able to provide the expected benefits; this ultimately results in a downward spiral for all involved. The purpose of this study is to better understand the factors that drive member organizations’ commitment, with a particular focus on the interaction of the three types of resource investment: money, time, and effort. The theoretical framework for the study is grounded in the resource-based view of the firm, the social exchange and social identity theories. A survey of 300 member organizations of a chamber of commerce in Montana USA provides empirical insights into the interactive effects of organizations’ resource investment on their commitment to the association. In summary, results show that level of participation in the association is a key driver of commitment. In addition, participation hours, length of membership time and organization size (proxy for financial investment) display interesting interactive effects. This study shows the importance of understanding the factors that drive commitment and continuity so that associations may design better ways to segment their membership base and design different forms of engagement with its different types of member organizations.

ABSTRACT. Abstract: In recent years, there has been a growing trend in educational institutions to adopt new methods of management and leadership of teacher’s teams. The traditional approach of top-down leadership and strict hierarchies is being replaced by a more collaborative and inclusive approach. This has been spurred on by a number of factors, including a greater focus on student-cantered learning and the need to retain highly-qualified teachers in an increasingly competitive environment. In this article, we will explore some of the new methods of management and leadership in educational institutions and how they are being implemented in managing teachers’ teams. Teachers have valuable insights and expertise that can be leveraged to improve teaching and learning outcomes. There is a need to give teachers a greater say in decision-making and encouraging them to take on leadership roles in areas such as curriculum development, assessment design, and professional development. This approach fosters a culture of collaboration and shared responsibility, which in turn leads to greater job satisfaction and teacher retention. Thus, new methods of management in educational institutions are critical for ensuring the success of educational institutions. Leadership in managing teacher teams is especially crucial, as teachers are at the heart of the educational system. Innovative management methods can create a culture of collaboration, encourage open communication, and promote innovation. Additionally, the provision of professional development opportunities and support for teacher well-being is essential for fostering a positive work environment and ensuring the success of educational institutions.

ABSTRACT. The objectives of this article are to describe the communication strategies developed on the subject of gender equality and to analyze the results of their implementation within the student community at the institutional level in Cuban higher education; specifically, the case of the Faculty of Design (Higher Institute of Design) of the University of Havana, Cuba, is analyzed. The methodology used for this research is the case study, and the techniques of document analysis and expert interview have been applied. The results display that students were sensitized to the issue of gender equality. Debate workshops were held on the topic, as well as activities inside and outside the institute in order to generate products of design to promote the topic of gender equality. The different manifestations of gender violence and how to confront them were made visible. The potential of visual communication as a strategy to promote gender equality was recognized, as a wide range of design results addressing the topic were achieved, which were socialized by the students with the rest of their colleagues through workshops created for this purpose. The designs generated became the coursework for several of the subjects included in the students' curriculum. From this point on, the students' participation became much more feasible, as their design and photography work for the project also contributed to their coursework. In addition, the optional subject Gender and Design was organized, where students were able to acquire the essential theoretical elements on the relationship between gender theory and industrial design, in order to develop the necessary skills to unlearn gender stereotypes that influence the creation of their products and incorporate new creative visions in the professional activity of design as an important element of communication.

ABSTRACT. The fiscal control area is extremely comprising having ramifications in the entire sphere of economic activity from production, transport, trade, fiscal control being performed in all possible fields of activity. Therefore, control must be managed, directed and rigorously performed with professionalism, integrity and last, but not least with vision by competent, dedicated and motivated staff. Due to these complex aspects, in the control activity multiple factors arise that may endanger controls, starting with the inchoate phase and up to the final reports of fiscal organs. Identifying risks that take action over the control activity, and eliminating them is a major need that implies the authorities’ awareness.

ABSTRACT. In the Black Sea region, Romania plays an important role as a factor of stability in the regional and global context. Considered to be the new interface between the Euro-Atlantic community and the Middle East, the Black Sea area is characterized by ethnic, social and cultural diversity and by the existence of significant economic disparities. An important component of the project to deepen relations with the Middle East and at the same time, to modernize the entire region, is stability. In the long term, the security problem in the Black Sea area goes beyond the borders of this region, the influencing factors being represented by the evolution of US-Russia relations, Russia's partnership with NATO and the EU, the position of other global actors and neighboring geopolitical developments. Security in the Black Sea area is strongly conditioned by its geographical positioning on the eastern border of the European and Euro-Atlantic integrative space, against the backdrop of concerns related to access to energy resources. In the last 70 years, there have been major changes in the political, institutional and geostrategic context, regionally and globally. Currently, events unfold in an asymmetric logic; the hybrid form of conflict has gradually replaced the classical form to an important extent. Conflict-generating processes represent an important test for regional organizations; in this context, the role of regional organizations in ensuring peace and security is vital. The research methodology involves the analysis of Romania's geo-strategic position and the analysis of the economic and military impact generated by Romania's status as a member state in various regional organizations.

ABSTRACT. The purpose of this article is to identify the impact of demonstrative formal rules on the dynamics of the effectiveness of institutional frameworks and disparities in regional development. The importance of forming an effective institutional framework for any country is undeniable. The presence of an effective institutional framework is a prerequisite for ensuring the successful socio-economic development of the country, on the other hand, an ineffective institutional framework can have a wide range of negative consequences, including disparities in regional development. However, the achievement of today's effectiveness of institutional frameworks cannot guarantee the proper socio-economic development of the country in the long term, because the institutional framework of any country is not unchanged, but is in a state of constant transformation due to the need to adapt the current formal rules to the new challenges facing society. Accordingly, the identification of the factors that determine the dynamics of the effectiveness of formal rules is no less important than the identification of the factors of ineffectiveness of formal rules. It is shown that one of these factors is demonstrative formal rules, that is, rules whose target effectiveness was not taken into account from the very beginning, and the only purpose of their implementation was to increase the political ratings of the initiators of their implementation. It has been proven that an effective measure to prevent the spread of demonstrative formal rules can be an increase in the general education of the population. The main advantages of the proposed measure are the low level of transaction costs and the absence of danger of manipulating public sentiment.

ABSTRACT. The purpose of this paper is to establish relationships between personality characteristics, cognitive abilities and performance of basketball actions of basketball players. An empirical study is conducted with basketball players in 2016, playing basketball at the Sports Club at the University of Economics – Varna. In order to establish the level of effectiveness of the students' game actions, their performances in 9 meetings (10 units of observation) are recorded. ANOVA is used to determine differences in basketball performance measures for individuals with relatively high levels of anxiety and for individuals with relatively low levels of anxiety. One of the indicators (Q6) is “personal anxiety”. Another indicator is available. It is “reactive anxiety” (Q7). PSPP is used to analyze the dataset. The results of the ANOVA test show that there are differences in basketball indicators in defense for people with low and high levels of personal anxiety but these differences are not statistically significant (p>0.05). The ANOVA test shows that there is a statistically significant difference (p<0.05) in Q21 “Countering a shelter with successful” for the examined two groups of basketball players (for people with low level of reactive anxiety and high level of reactive anxiety). The ANOVA test shows that there are statistically significant differences in “Countering a shelter with successful” for people with low level of reactive anxiety (Mean=24.31, SD=14.90) and high level of reactive anxiety (Mean=14.21, SD=6.65). The practical significance of the results refers to the effectiveness of the educational and sports process of university students. The novelty of the paper refers to the analysis of personal characteristics of basketball players (such as anxiety) on their performance in action.

ABSTRACT. The year 2021 marked the beginning of the most severe global energy crisis in recent decades. The Old Continent experienced significant increases in energy prices as well as natural gas shortages. These challenges required the European Union to adopt measures to mitigate the negative effects of this crisis. The purpose of this paper is to identify and evaluate the measures taken by the EU and member state authorities to combat the current energy crisis. Among the proposed objectives are: determining the causes that generated the current energy crisis; establishing the economic and social consequences of the crisis; carrying out a comparison regarding the anti-crisis measures adopted by European Union Member States and the results recorded. Using the qualitative research method, this article is the result of the integrative consultation of rich and recent scientific literature (official documents of the European Parliament and the European Commission, academic articles and studies published by various notable think tanks and research institutions). Furthermore, statistical data collected from the Eurostat website were collected, processed, and interpreted. The results of this study suggest that even if, over time, the European community has faced various problems related to energy security, government policymakers have so far failed to ensure the energy independence of their states. For this reason, the EU is still facing the same energy deficiencies as in previous decades. It was also highlighted that some UE countries succeeded in managing this critical situation better than others and the factors that determined this difference were established.

ABSTRACT. The study examines the relationship between Romanian GDP, M2 Money Supply and BET Index from Bucharest Stock Exchange between 2007 and 2022, a period which encompasses both the Financial Crisis from 2008 and the Covid-19 Pandemic Crisis. During the Great Financial Crisis, there was a global economic downturn, which had a significant impact on Romania's economy. The country experienced a contraction in the GDP and a sharp decline in the BET Index, reflecting the overall negative sentiment in the financial markets and the crisis led to reduced economic activity, decreased investment, and increased uncertainty, which likely influenced the relationship between these variables. During the COVID-19 Pandemic Crisis, Romania, like many other countries, faced unprecedented challenges as the pandemic caused disruptions to economic activities, trade, and financial markets. The country experienced a contraction in GDP, and the central bank implemented various monetary policy measures to mitigate the economic impact of the pandemic, including changes in M2 Money Supply. The BET Index also experienced significant fluctuations, reflecting the heightened volatility and uncertainty in the financial markets during the crisis. The relationship between GDP, M2 Money Supply and the BET Index can provide insights into how these variables interact and potentially influence each other. The quarterly data used in this research is secondary, obtained from Investing.com, Romanian National Institute of Statistics and from the National Bank of Romania. Granger causality analysis is a statistical method used to determine the direction of causality between two or more time series variables. In this case, we are interested in investigating the potential Granger causality relationship between GDP, M2 Money Supply, and the BET Index in Romania. The preliminary results show that past values of M2 Money Supply and Bet Index can jointly have a predictive power in explaining the current values of the GDP.

ABSTRACT. The international community is paying close attention to renewable energy in the context of the energy crisis and the transition to green energy aimed at reducing carbon emissions, particularly the European Union, which is developing strategies to strengthen funding to build a sustainable future community. According to the EU's REPowerEU strategy, reliance on Russian fossil fuels should be severely reduced by 2027 and cease by 2030. Moreover, the EU aims to increase the amount of renewable energy sources in total final energy consumption to 45% by the decade's end. The benefits of clean energy to the environment, business, and society have made the transition from fossil fuels to sustainable energy sources such as solar, wind, hydropower, and geothermal more crucial than ever. Adopting energy-efficient techniques and innovations is critical to lowering greenhouse gas emissions and enhancing energy security. As the world struggles with the effects of climate change and the depletion of nonrenewable resources, the need for a transition to sustainable energy technologies has become increasingly critical. Our study is based on panel data analysis of all 27 EU member states from 2010 to 2020 to investigate the various energy sources and how they affect carbon emissions, highlighting the implications at the country and European Union levels. According to our findings, countries with higher green energy consumption release fewer greenhouse gases than countries with lower non-green energy consumption. The study also addresses potential methods to speed the transition to a sustainable energy future while emphasizing the challenges of implementing green energy and energy-saving techniques.

ABSTRACT. The circular economy is an economic model that emphasizes resource efficiency and waste reduction through the reuse, repair, and recycling of material. The agricultural sector is one of the industries that can benefit significantly from the implementation of circular economy principles. Its implementation in the agricultural sector offers significant opportunities for sustainable development by reducing the environmental impact of agricultural practices. However, the feasibility of implementing circular economy principles in the Romanian agriculture environment remains unclear. This article aims to assess the feasibility of implementing circular economy principles in the Romanian agriculture environment through a comprehensive analysis of opportunities, challenges, and recommendations for circular economy implementation. The findings reveal that the implementation of circular economy principles in the Romanian agriculture environment is feasible, with significant opportunities for waste reduction and resource efficiency. However, several challenges, such as institutional, cultural, and technical factors, hinder the implementation process. To promote the feasibility of implementing circular economy principles in the Romanian agriculture environment, the article recommends various strategies, including stakeholder engagement, policy support, and technological innovation. Moreover, the study highlights the need for further research on the economic and environmental impacts of circular economy practices in the Romanian agriculture environment. The article contributes to the existing literature by providing a comprehensive assessment of the feasibility of implementing circular economy principles in the Romanian agriculture environment. The study's findings, implications, and recommendations provide valuable insights for policymakers, researchers, and stakeholders interested in promoting sustainable development through circular economy practices in the Romanian agriculture environment.

ABSTRACT. Trade deficit, known as current account deficit, usually occurs when a country does not produce enough goods for its citizens, or consumers have sufficient income and increasing purchasing power. When domestic production is low, goods imported from other countries rise. The trade deficit resulting from the increase in imports for re-technology and know-how has positive long-term effects, unlike the imports intended for consumption. More than 70% of the region's exports go to the EU, so a dominant role is given to studying and analyzing the countries of the European Union. The German economy stands out in the region of EU countries, as around a third of exports in the EU go to Germany, thus making it the most influential country in the region. In recent times, the Brexit situation in England, unrest in Italy and uncertainty in the domestic financial and political markets have created significant uncertainties in several European countries. Asian countries are on an upward trend in the external balances of the countries in the region (several times higher than before the crisis), which, thanks to the diversification of Hungarian exports in recent years, have increased foreign trade. Germany's increased exports to China (a large part of which are luxury car exports) have indirectly exposed countries in the region to the large importing country.

ABSTRACT. Measuring the defense product is a necessary step in determining the efficient use of public funds in the defense sector. In this paper, the final product obtained by the military field is analyzed from a macroeconomic perspective. The defense sector absorbs a substantial part of the state's resources, limited resources that could have multiple alternative uses for society. While defense expenditure is known for each state, for now there is no internationally established standard indicator of the defense product obtained. This is in contrast to how performance is evaluated in the private sector economy. In the field of defense, the solution proposed by economists for measuring "defense output" assumes that the defense product obtained equals "resource inputs" or that the value of defense production is approximately equal to the expenditure incurred to achieve that result. Measuring the value of production in the free market economy is not viewed as a matter of policy. Market economies solve this problem through the method of market prices, and the supply-demand mechanism, which actually reflects the options existing between a certain number of buyers and sellers. However, in the field of defense things differ from the private markets model, which leads to an understanding of the challenge in measuring and evaluating the defense product. Economic theory provides some guidelines for determining the optimal outcome of the defense product. Analyzing these aspects from the perspective of an optimization problem, it is necessary to identify the socially desired level of defense, and to track the resulting level of defense. This is done by equating the additional or marginal costs of the proposed defense spending with the additional or marginal benefits obtained. Although the economic approach is difficult to translate into a set of clear policy guidelines, it nevertheless provides a framework for designing defense performance assessment.

ABSTRACT. Poverty is one of the world's greatest economic and social problems of all time and unfortunately it is still present in many parts of the world. Sustainable solutions to reduce it are essential to increase the well-being of individuals and society. This paper aims to examine sustainable development and the solutions for poverty reduction, using a qualitative methodology based on a content analysis of the literature on how sustainable development can be a solution to global problems such as poverty. First, the various causes of poverty, such as social and economic inequalities, limited access to education and health, will be analysed. After an introduction, the paper will present the concept of sustainable development, underlying the virtues, as well as limits of it. There will be explored sustainable solutions for poverty reduction, which focus on sustainable development and the promotion of social and economic inclusion. Among these solutions will be the creation of jobs and investment in the agricultural sector, the development of infrastructure and public services, the promotion of access to education and health services, and support for local communities and the social and solidarity economy. To validate these findings, qualitative methodology based on content analysis of sustainable development literature will allow to identify and evaluate good practices in sustainable development and poverty reduction. Therefore, it will be possible to show that sustainable solutions for poverty reduction are not only feasible but also effective in terms of social and economic impact. The paper will end with conclusions, arguing that sustainable solutions to poverty reduction are the key to increasing the well-being of individuals and society, and showing that interconnectivity, when considered in a sustainable approach, can improve the benefits for economic and social life.

ABSTRACT. The present paper aims to study the relationship and impact of the creativity to the process of economic growth, in terms of GDP, while providing background for achieving sustainable economic growth through sustainable innovations. The paper is structured in five parts. In the first part, introduction, important insights on the value of creative individuals and enterprises are presented, while exploring the concepts of creative class and creative clusters and their importance in the construction of a sustainable economy. Also, the process of economic growth is analysed, based on the endogenous type of economic growth models, in order to achieve sustainability by including the concept of creativity in the models. The process of obtaining sustainable innovations that can assure the sustainability of an endogenous growth model is also explored. In the second part, methodological aspects are presented, such as the internal design of the data analysis, the statistical methods and software that are used and the source of the data. The third part covers the results section and provides maps and charts for a concise visualisation of the data. The results show that there is a significant positive corelation among creativity and economic growth, while the hypothesis testing has provided evidence that the most creative countries tend to have the most sustainable economic growth. Also, different types of regressions were computed, with and without control variables, in order to explore the relation among creativity and sustainability of the economic growth process. In the discussion section, similar studies have been presented, in comparison with the present results, while future research insights and limitations of the present study are exposed.

ABSTRACT. The paper is based on an inductive research as a qualitative research method and seeks to examine whether the Genuine Progress Indicator (GPI) can predict energy transition trends in Romania or not, and to analyse national strategies from the perspective of their feasibility and effectiveness. The GPI is a metric for economic growth and prosperity at national level that is frequently used as a possible substitute to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) index. However, it takes into account external factors like pollution, among others, which are highly relevant in the energy transition process. According to various studies, despite a threefold rise in global GDP since the middle of last century, economic welfare as measured by GPI has deteriorated over the past fifty years and the GPI per capita reached its highest level ever when the global Ecological Footprint surpassed the Biocapacity worldwide, in the late 1970s. The GPI metric incorporates all factors used to calculate GDP while also including additional costs for adverse impacts of economic activity, such as the cost of ozone depletion (environment impact) and resource depletion (social impact). Therefore, by using applied research, the paper looks into the situation in Romania, which has taken steps towards achieving energy transition in recent years, but it still has a long way to go to reach its goals. The GPI can be used to monitor overall social and economic progress, but other metrics could be more appropriate as well to specifically monitor progress towards its energy transition goals. The study concludes that current methods of monitoring economic development need to shift towards better accounting for real sustainable development, rather than just focusing on GDP growth. Also, further research is needed to examine the energy transition trends.

ABSTRACT. This study examines the principal components that are characteristic to a varied number of indicators specific to the economical, social and environmental interconnectivity. The data are drawn primarely from the World Bank’s World Development Indicators, the United Nations Development Programme’s Human Development Index and Our World In Data’s Indicators. Using cross-section panel data from 2000 to 2021, for a number of 32 european countries, a considerable number of factors are generated by conducting the principal component analysis. The results of the analysis depict an image where the tridimensional interconnectivity is described, to a greater extent, by components such as: the economic performance of the agricultural sector, as seen through its contribution towards the formation of the gross domestic product, the total quantity of primary energy consumed per capita, the share of individuals that can access the internet, the percentage of individuals that are unemployed, the population density, the total dependency ratio, the economic performance of the industrial sector, as seen through its contribution towards the formation of the gross domestic product and the percentage of the female population that has attained at least secondary education. Together with the gross domestic product, the obtained factors are statistically analysed in order to observe the existing correlations between economic growth and the economic, social and environmental interconnectivity. According to the results of the Pearson correlation, both positive and negative relationships of moderate intensities exist between economic growth and the factors that address the tridimensional interconnectivity. Furthermore, recommendations are made for future research regarding the creation of an index based on the components that form the factors previously obtained. Additionally, researchers might also target both the cumulative and the individual effect of indicators related to economic growth on the primary components identified.

ABSTRACT. This paper presents some landmarks about possible new economic shapes for the future of the world influenced by the current crises that are rattling the system. We will focus on the two main crises that will determine whether it's even worth talking about these issues one of them is the growing threat of nuclear war the other is the climate crisis environmental crisis, which must be dealt with in the next few years or else human societies essentially is finished. So, unless these two crises are properly met and everything else is smooth somehow, we'll be able to deal with them. The paper also addresses the current geopolitical crises shifting centers of world power unipolar versus multipolar is very much in the news right now. To better understand the current reality, we need to recall the principles of war economics and develop a new conceptual framework. In peacetime, the economy focuses on sustainable development, free-market principles, and competition, with companies maximising profits and investing in research and development. The government invests in education, health, and infrastructure to support economic growth. During wartime, the government takes control of the economy and focuses on producing and distributing resources needed for the war effort. Martial law may be imposed to control the population and the economy, and individual rights are suppressed. The economy does not function on free-market principles, and companies are centralised and directed by the government or military. The war affects the country's resources, productivity, infrastructure, and causes social and psychological effects on individuals. War economics dramatically changes the economy, and it is crucial to understand its principles and consequences to prepare for potential future conflicts. This work was supported by Hasso Plattner Foundation through the grant LBUS-UA-RO-2023, financed by the Knowledge Transfer Center of the Lucian Blaga University of Sibiu.”

ABSTRACT. The trend of women's involvement in global business has been increasing in recent decades. This trend is also growing in the sphere of the digital economy. Gradually, women managed to build their role in digitalization. This article will analyze the role of women in the digital world. The main goal of this research is to show, first of all, the importance of digitization on a global level, and then the role of women in the digital economy. Using numerous reports of relevant international organizations and associations, forms of incorporating digitization into the economic system, regulation, and social community will be presented. A comparative analysis will use numerous available data that indicate differences between regions and countries. Examples, which will be used in the analysis, will show the existence of a gender gap in the ICT sector. The importance of including women in the digital business world and their contribution to the final results of a business will also be shown. Our results show that women's contribution to the digital economy has increased recently. That contribution can be measured globally, thanks to the increasing participation of women in high management positions, government positions, company directors, entrepreneurs, etc. We show that greater investment in women's participation in the digital economy creates a more inclusive and equitable global economy. Public policies must provide an ambitious plan that women include digital processes and economics. The obtained results can be used for future advanced research. The decision-makers can use these conclusions for future analyses of the labor market.

ABSTRACT. This study uses an empirical analysis of publicly available data to investigate the connection between digital literacy and employment in Romania from a European perspective. Understanding how digital literacy affects people's prospects of finding employment is essential because it has become a fundamental skill for employability. This study examines the levels of digital literacy among people in Romania and how these levels affect their employability using publicly available data from the European Union and national statistics agencies. The study employs a quantitative methodology and statistical methods including correlation and panel regression analysis. The results indicate that digital literacy and employment are positively correlated, with higher levels of digital literacy being associated with higher employment rates. The study also shows that there is an increase in the need for digital skills on the Romanian labour market, with employability being increasingly dependent on digital literacy. These findings highlight the need of digital literacy training and development to increase employability and close the digital skills gap, and they have significant ramifications for policymakers, educators, and employers in Romania. To develop a more thorough understanding of the function of digital skills in the labour market, additional research can examine the effect of digital literacy on the quality and satisfaction of jobs in Romania and other nations within the European Union. Overall, this study adds to the expanding body of research on the value of digital literacy in the job market and offers insightful advice to educators, policymakers and employers in Romania and other nations facing comparable difficulties.

ABSTRACT. This article presents the results of empirical research on the perception of cryptocurrencies among young participants of the financial market. The research was conducted in 2023, simultaneously in three countries: Poland, Romania, Ukraine and also among Ukrainians living in Poland. The aim of this research was to identify similarities and differences in the perception of national currencies, world reserve currencies and cryptocurrencies, as well as differences in the level of trust in the existing financial system in the world in post-pandemic reality and in times of military conflict. The results of the research showed that there are significant differences in perception, resulting from many factors, including the level of economic development, innovativeness of financial markets, historical conditions and the so-called collective awareness (mentality), shaping the financial behaviour of economy participants. The obtained research results can be a starting point for further, in-depth analyzes of the studied phenomenon at the international level, not only in the sphere of economics and finance, but also in sociology and psychology.

ABSTRACT. Entrepreneurship can be considered a national asset because it enables a much more efficient use of unused resources, labor and capital, and it can also contribute to solving numerous social problems. That a new demographic reality is on the horizon is confirmed by the current demographic trends, which unequivocally indicate an increase in the number of inhabitants as well as a change in the age of the population in certain geographical regions of the world, which also leads to the emergence of new demographic characteristics. All of the above has significant social and economic implications, especially with regard to the increasingly difficult sustainability of existing pension systems today, and forecasts indicate that it will be even more pronounced in the future. In the search for an adequate response to the mentioned new demographic reality and the problems caused by it, and in order to overcome them, a possible solution is increasingly seen in senior entrepreneurship, i.e. encouraging people aged 60 and over to actively engage in entrepreneurial ventures, which would add another wheel to drive economic development. In this paper, the authors explore the perspectives of senior entrepreneurship with a special focus on the Republic of Serbia, which, due to the aging of its population, belongs to the list of countries where the aforementioned changes come to the fore. In this sense, the authors first consider the latest demographic trends and the resulting demographic characteristics, including their manifestations. Then they consider relevant issues of senior entrepreneurship. Finally, they present the results they reached in terms of the implications of demographic changes both at the global level and in the Republic of Serbia.

ABSTRACT. An organization may be transformed digitally in many ways beyond simple digitization. It is the outcome of an organizational transformation in which people, processes, and the whole business model, particularly for institutions, perceive technology as a tool to create value among its customers and partners. Significant changes are being made to the operations and curriculum of higher education institutions. These significant changes are being driven by several factors. These factors include operating expenses, micro and nano degrees, online learning, digital-navy students, and digital transformation. Students use digital technology to demonstrate a variety of tools chosen to integrate structured learning environments in teaching in higher education. The paper proposes, on the one hand, a review of the digital transformations in higher education institutions and, on the other hand, an evaluation of the potential of digitization in education and the perspectives shortly. Concepts such as digital transformation, VR technology, artificial intelligence, and TED courses are becoming practical and pragmatic elements without which the educational future cannot exist. After a thorough analysis, we can conclude that digitalization is only the first stage in a process in which institutions employ new technologies to carry out old tasks. Beyond simply implementing new technologies, digitally transforming an educational institution, or even the entire system, necessitates rethinking the roles of all stakeholders involved in the educational process, promoting practices such as flipped learning, gamification, or crossover learning, and implementing new managerial practices in which ICTs reshape the main value activities of these organizations. Considering the above, we consider that this research comes with some concrete answers to the concerns of those interested in the implementation of digitization in educational institutions.

ABSTRACT. The purpose of this paper is to investigate how digital transformation as part of the service sector can lead to sustainability and improve the quality of education, improve the health and well-being of the population, lead to gender equality and reduce hunger to zero. The authors will carry out research of the available specialized literature to observe the gaps and debate about the challenges and opportunities of digital transformation in driving sustainability. On the other hand, quantitative research will be carried out in the form of an online questionnaire that will be addressed to a sample of approximately 100-200 people, residents of large cities in Romania, a place where there is a high potential for digital transformation in the service sector but also very low levels in terms of quality of education, health and well-being, gender equality or hunger. The preliminary results will indicate that the future of sustainability is represented by replacing the Consumption of Products with the Consumption of Services, replacing Products with Services as a Product or Digital Products, and Romania is the ideal place where it can be implemented, having an economy based on consumption but also very low level of the four Sustainable Development Goals mentioned above. The results also indicate the existence of three types of products, Essential Life Products that cannot be replaced, Intermediate Products that are necessary but can be replaced with Services as a Product, where the products can be used in common through rental services or complete services including those products but there will no longer be a need for a product for each family, but only one product for the entire neighbourhood, for example, and finally Replaceable Products with Digital Products and Services.

ABSTRACT. The need for an appropriate financing of public goods and services involves micro and macro fiscal decisions both from the perspective of increasing the degree of fiscal compliance and improving the collection of fiscal revenues. Considering these aspects, alongside the keywords associated with digitization and digital transformation such as improving processes and services, simplifying procedures and mechanisms, strengthening decisions, increasing efficiency and effectiveness, ensuring fairness and reducing costs, the digitization of tax administration worldwide is in full swing. The main benefits of the digitization of the tax administration (digitization of the tax system, digitization of the tax function) are: the increase in tax revenues as a result of the increase in voluntary compliance; reducing the cost of tax collection; increasing transparency in fiscal units; removal/reduction of the main deficiencies of the information system in the tax field (distortion, filtering, redundancy, overloading of channels with information); reducing the underground economy and broadening the tax base; strengthening the taxpayer-tax institution partnership. Without claiming an exhaustive approach, through this article we will present the main fiscal technological initiatives in the EU member states, in order to highlight the elements of good practice that led to an improvement in tax administration. Since tax administrations are a particularly important component in e-government strategies, digitization in the tax field will allow the public sector to provide services focused on taxpayers' needs, considering the challenges and risks in taxation and tax compliance. Thus, a well-defined digital strategy, with action plans and measures based on optimization, will allow tax institutions to be innovative and able to respond to the challenges of the external environment.

ABSTRACT. Current developments and trends that characterize the market economy system, in a context marked by many uncertainties and tensions of economic, social and political order, draw more and more attention to the need and importance that resilience has at organizational level. In a world subject to constant change, the need and ability to adapt to the new, imprints a new dynamic at the level of economic systems. If until recently, the economic strength of an organization, the degree of technology and its ability to concentrate as large a share of the market as possible were considered elements of performance, the reality of recent years has highlighted the fact that they are no longer enough. Digital technology is developing intensively in the volatile and turbulent context of recent years, through the introduction of innovative technologies, the automation of economic processes, but also changes in the organizational culture of many companies. The challenge of today's digital economy is manifested by the need for continuous adaptation to the needs of markets. Starting from these aspects, the purpose of this paper is to verify the hypothesis that digitization is a key element in ensuring resilience at organizational level in the current economic context. Thus, this paper aims to carry out an analysis on the topic of "digitalization of organizations", through a bibliometric study, from a perspective involving resilience. Data were retrieved from the Web Of Science database and analysed using VOSviewer software. The results of the paper aim at outlining some directions regarding development strategies able at ensuring organizational resilience.

ABSTRACT. Built on the inventions of the third revolution (the digital one) and shaped by the cyber-physical (production) systems, the fourth industrial revolution is mirrored in a global industry 4.0 market that is anticipated to increase from $130.90 billion in 2022 to $377.30 billion by 2029 (Fortune Business Insights, 2022). Industrial computerization and the advancements in digital technologies are transforming industries, while being increasingly adopted by enterprises seeking to boost their efficiency, productivity, and competitiveness. Studies show that, when performed correctly, digital transformation can augment an organization’s revenue by up to 22% and EBIT by up to 19% (Deloitte, 2020); the challenges of (successfully implementing) digital transformation are thus only matched by those of putting off or postponing it in today’s highly competitive and digitally connected world. In this context, the paper aims to compare and contrast the enterprises of Romania and Serbia (with 10 employees or more) in terms of their (levels of) digitalization – by finding their respective strengths and weaknesses and identifying the main challenges (opportunities and threats) they face on the pathways to digital transformation. Digital intensity – considering the set of digital technologies adopted by enterprises according to EU’s Digital Intensity Index v4 2022 – has been used as a proxy for assessing how digitalized the enterprises are, with the EU27 average serving as benchmark. The analysis combined country-level data on digital development (from Microsoft’s Digital Futures Index, which evaluates the digitalization level of the Central and Eastern European countries against several digital frontrunner countries) with enterprise-level data on digital intensity (from Eurostat’s Digital Economy and Society Index – ICT usage in enterprises – digital intensity by NACE activity and by size class of enterprise).

ABSTRACT. The purpose of this paper is to underline the importance of the added value for customers driven by the services and products created by companies using two relatively new methodologies in the innovation management field, lean and agile. The business environment changes rapidly due to new technologies and the globalisation effects which helps in creating perfect means to bring together companies and clients throughout the world. This is the reason why the focus of the companies needs to be on the created value of the innovative products and services for their clients. Moreover, firms need to make possible for customers to bring their own innovative and improving ideas throughout the entire innovation process. At the same time, organizations must be agile to adapt their offer rapidly to the fast-changing business environment and constantly innovate based on the newly gained knowledge from external and internal sources. The lean and agile innovations can be easily included in any organization’s strategy to obtain a competitive advantage on the market. Two successful examples of using these two methodologies in practice are two companies from the banking sector, ING and Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS). These financial institutions engaged their clients in their innovation processes so they can provide better suited products and services. Simultaneously, both companies responded to the new challenges from the market with an agility mindset, planning their innovation processes rapidly through a transformational strategy. The newly developed initiatives reduce time and costs spent in developing products to benefit their clients, they provide transparency and agile methods to gather new knowledge for rapid implementation. Lean and agile innovations proved to be the best approaches for these banks to provide added value for their customers, considering their ideas and improvements in the entire innovation process.

ABSTRACT. Today, the internet and digital technologies have become an essential part of leisure, work, social, economic, and political life for most people, not only in developed countries but also worldwide. Digital technologies affect all aspects of both social life and business management. This thesis emphasizes the significance of digital culture for the further development of countries and its impact on various spheres of life, particularly the economy. The research focuses on the theoretical and practical aspects of implementing digital culture in European countries and its contribution to economic growth. It also examines the impact of Covid-19 on the use of information and communication technologies and analyzes the state of digital culture in Ukraine. Various panel regression models and statistical methods were used to analyze the data from Eurostat and the State Statistics Service of Ukraine. Finally, there is an attempt to predict the future state of the digital industry and outlines strategies for developing Ukraine's digital economy. A study on digitalization in European countries found that around 91% of the population had access to the internet in 2021, indicating good but insufficient progress in the development of the latest technologies. However, the pace of digitization in Europe remains slow, with slow adoption of technologies such as big data, AI, and 3D printing. The development of Ukraine's digital economy is hindered by a lack of widespread internet access and the need to address fundamental issues, but the positive impact of digital transformation can be realized through efforts to improve digital skills and infrastructure. The study found that outsourcing, rather than hiring ICT professionals, may be a contributing factor. A regression model found a close relationship between factors such as the level of education, employment opportunities, and access to the internet with the ICT sector's contribution to GDP.

ABSTRACT. Adoption of modern communication and technology has arguably never been as important as it is in today’s rapidly changing environment. The changes in technology completely revolutionize the tourism industry determining important actors and entities to adapt their strategy, as Romanian tourism industry slowly deviates from reality to virtuality. Since Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR) are the next big technological shifts, it is only pertinent to assume that they will transform the tourism industry, especially since VR and AR have already been used in tourism at an experimental level.

The present paper focuses on the extent of the transformations linked to the implementation of VR and AR into tourism. The goal is to examine the issues and possibilities presented by digitalization in tourism, as well as how these challenges and opportunities influence and reform the tourism industry. Innovating the tourism ecosystem requires attention in the fields tackled in this paper: skills, finance, infrastructure and policy support. Lastly, the paper integrates technological advancements in tourism that aid in creating a digital perspective over the tourism industry.

The paper employs a mixed-method approach being based on secondary sources ranging from academic works and research papers to personal accounts. Case studies and examples were chosen and developed on the merit of their informative value. The novelty of the subject calls for usage of secondary data which includes case studies, renditions of direct observation, papers, journal articles and scholarly papers.

The aim of the study is to aid Romanian tourism to adequately prepare for incorporating VR and AR and to mention the most important elements that must be embarked upon the transition from real to virtual tourism. Consequently, VR and AR are likely to not only revolutionize the tourism industry, but also redefine it (Hobson & Williams, 1994).

ABSTRACT. The COVID'19 crisis has brought a series of changes in our daily behavior and in the way we relate to those around us. Moreover, it somewhat forced us to find ways to avoid excessive isolation without exposing ourselves in a dangerous way in the given context. This is how the idea was born to implement at the level of the Sibiu Destination Management Organization (currently the County Tourism Association) a project that would facilitate as many nature lovers as possible to take part in organized hikes. The idea was developed in depth, in two components: one aimed at adult groups and family hikes, and the other aimed at schools and high schools. They have been given the opportunity to organize trips for classes of students and young high school students, to be financed through the program, so that the initial demand for such activities is properly stimulated. Later, some of these activities were integrated with other sustainable initiatives, such as planting trees, sanitizing hiking trails or tourist areas, organizing thematic hikes aimed at helping young people learn about tree or plant species, discovering the natural area in which they live or understanding the ways in which we can protect or even sustainably develop the natural habitat. The paper aims to present an example of good practices implemented at the level of the Sibiu Destination Management Organization and to identify ways of developing the project started in the second part of 2021. We also aim to analyze the possibility of increasing, through the project, the number of those who understand the role of development in communion with nature and who will participate in outdoor activities.

ABSTRACT. Tourism is called upon to play the role of facilitator of sustainable development, to lead collaboration with interest groups and local communities to decide jointly on the development of destinations. After the last difficult and challenging years, tourism has shown its resilience and ability to once again represent the percentage of GDP of many of the countries it owned before the pandemic. The WTO launched in 2021 the "Best Tourism Villages" initiative with the aim of transforming tourism into an engine for rural development and well-being and bringing about real change in local communities by creating jobs, supporting local businesses and preserving customs and traditions. The initiative recognizes villages that are an example of a rural tourist destination with cultural and natural assets, that preserve and promote the values, products and lifestyles of communities, and that have a clear commitment to innovation and sustainability. Romania is very well positioned at international level, from the point of view of rural tourism. Six localities have entered the competition "Best Tourism Villages" (2022), dedicated to the recognition of villages that are remarkable examples of rural tourist destinations. These are Biertan, Răşinari and Râu Sadului (Sibiu County), Ciocăneşti (Suceava), Costeşti (Vâlcea), Eibenthal (Mehedinţi). In the work we analyzed the criteria that formed the basis for the selection of the three villages in Sibiu County, namely: the cultural and natural resources in the destination, the promotion and conservation of cultural resources, the economic, social and environmental sustainability, the governance and prioritization of tourism, infrastructure and connectivity, health, safety and security, as well as the photos and presentation videos. Răşinari village is the big winner of Romania's second edition of the world competition Best Tourism Villages, being selected by the specialists of the WTO, from over 130 applications, coming from 57 countries.

ABSTRACT. The hospitality, tourism, and service industry consume significant amounts of energy and water for their necessary business operations, having a detrimental influence on the environment. The aim of this paper is to assess the impact that new cities and communities’ policies such as the United Nations’ 2015 sustainable development goals (SDGs) and other similar policies have on this industry. Although sustainable development can be a competitive advantage in this industry, the way SDGs are applied in hospitality, tourism, and service is questionable. This paper tries to appreciate to what extent SDGs are implemented in the Brasov region of Romania. Through mixt research based on a secondary data analysis, focused on defining concepts, assessing the acceptance of recent sustainable policies, and through primary data collection – a qualitative research, based on interviews among managers and owners of touristic accommodation units and restaurants, and a quantitative research, conducted with questionnaires among locals, tourists, and different employees from hospitality and service businesses, the authors tried to fulfill the research purpose. The research revealed interesting facts both from the perspective of stakeholders and from the perspective of tourists. The majority of the respondents agreed with the implementation of the SDGs. However, the majority also failed to observe any direct effects of the SDGs and any action from the government toward accomplishing them. All the interviewees stated similarly that there is little probability of SDG’s accomplishment by 2030. Also, a small number of interviewees have indeed been incorporating and practicing their own methods of sustainability considering their own private motivations. While the introduction of SDGs has been positively received, incorporating them into the everyday lives of people and businesses calls for an improved action plan, especially in the hospitality, tourism, and service industry in the Brasov area.

ABSTRACT. Health system strengthening is a critical component of public health and national economic development. The development and investment in the complex infrastructure of the health system, starting from human resources, represented by the medical and sanitary personnel to the health infrastructure on which the delivery of specific medical assistance and public health interventions depends, is a necessity in a modern health system. A sustainable development of the health system helps to create a strong system necessary to face some of the biggest global challenges we face, but also to ensure universal health coverage and access to high-quality health care services. Health systems must be accessible, effective and able to adapt to future changes and challenges, facing pressures that force them to evolve, modernize and adapt to a constantly changing environment. This paper proposes to make a diagnosis of the health system in Romania, the analyzes being carried out on a database with specific indicators for the medical infrastructure for the period 2014-2021, also carrying out spatial analyzes at the level of territorial administrative unit. The research analyzes the resources allocated to the sanitary system in Romania for the mentioned period, in terms of efficiency, effectiveness and economy. The results of the research revealed a direct link between the allocation of resources in the health system and the sustainability of the system. Showing that although shocks destabilize a health system, they also open an opportunity for transformation, for adaptation. This must lead to the development of policies with the potential for long-term transformation of the health system.

ABSTRACT. December 1989, the fall of communism in Romania and later in Central and Eastern Europe, countries that functioned for about 40 years, in a centralized economy, which was appointed or planned by the state apparatus, where the power of the state was over the labor market, services, and the consumption one, practically, was the principle of equality for all. Later, in Romania, small businesses in the field of services and production began to grow. The centralized economy is declining and the market economy is gaining momentum. only that our small entrepreneurs grow, develop and participate in the market economy according to a less educated entrepreneurial principle. In the article I am presenting, you will see the role of the education of small entrepreneurs, the entrepreneurial function in the labor market and how much entrepreneurial education matters from young ages to tertiary education, as well as in the development of adults. The role of education in the entrepreneurial function is, and has a bidirectional effect, economic performance and increasing the quality of life, for this reason entrepreneurial education must be a component of the educational system, introduced in the teaching and learning curriculum. Great specialists in economics say that economic development is influenced by two factors, the labor market and the labor force, but these two factors must be part of the labor market, and the labor market is based on small entrepreneurs who later become entrepreneurs in the development of services and production is the basis of the market economy. For this reason, I believe that entrepreneurial education must take part in the existing education cycle

ABSTRACT. Health systems are continuously subject to challenges of different natures, from the ageing of the population, namely the increase in the number of associated diseases, high costs of financing new technologies to the emergence of pandemics, with a major impact on the budgets allocated for health. In 2020, 48% of the funds allocated for health in Romania were spent in hospital units, 25% by retailers and other providers of medical goods, and 14% of the amounts were allocated to outpatient medical service providers. According to the OECD, up to 20% of health spending contributes little or no to improving the health of patients, including unnecessary hospitalizations or outdated average hospitalization times, unnecessary or duplicated sets of analyzes, overpriced drug treatments at the expense of generics, continuous hospitalizations for conditions that can be treated outpatient, etc. Given the fact that the budget allocated to health in Romania is among the lowest and at the level of the Member States of the European Union, it is very important that the amounts allocated be spent as efficiently as possible. This paper carries out a qualitative and quantitative research on the use of funds allocated for health, for the period 2012 - 2022, in six hospital units in the west of the country, with the purpose of verification the level of efficiency of the use of these funds. The results of the research show us the existence of avoidable expenses, which do not bring benefits regarding the health status of patients but put pressure on the budgets of hospital units. By highlighting these expenses, there are the necessary premises for optimizing expenses, so that the savings can be used to increase the quality of the medical act and the development of patient treatment requirements.

ABSTRACT. The war in Ukraine has resulted in a massive outflow of human and financial capital, particularly to neighbouring countries. However, the research on the flow of refugees from Ukraine to the European Union and NATO countries in the context of the Russian invasion is still in its early stages, with few data available, which motivates our research. In this paper, we examine the main characteristics of external labour migration from Ukraine, as well as how refugee flows from Ukraine compensate for the loss of human capital from countries in South-Eastern Europe, and how they affect the labour markets in each country. Even if European authorities implemented swift policies, refugees faced barriers, resulting in difficult short-term integration into host-country labour markets. We also conduct an exploratory analysis, focusing on Romania in comparison to other South-East European countries in terms of the impact of Ukrainian refugees at the macroeconomic level. Aside from the narrow scope of labour markets, the influx of Ukrainian refugees has other implications for fiscal resources, housing, and public service provision in these countries. We anticipate that the findings of our analysis will show that the flow of refugees from Ukraine can mitigate the negative consequences of the loss of local labour in the destination countries, thereby contributing to their economic and social development. In terms of labour market supply, the influx of refugees has the potential for growth, alleviating the constraints on the labour market in the European Union, particularly in South-East European countries.

ABSTRACT. This paper examines the challenges and opportunities in Iran's human resource management (HRM) practices. The study aims to identify the persistent issues that impact HRM practices, such as nepotism, brain drain, inconsistent education, and cultural factors. The methodology includes an analysis of existing literature on HRM in Iran from reliable databases. The study's findings suggest that HRM practices in Iran are influenced by complex national culture and Islamic factors, which impact national, contingent, and organizational HRM practices. Despite challenges such as nepotism and inconsistency in education, Iran's large population provides firms with a pool of talented and skilled workers that can be leveraged through effective recruitment and selection strategies. Furthermore, training and development are critical subsystems of any organization's HRM system. Therefore, HRM professionals can play a vital role in developing and implementing practical programs that align with Iran's current and future industry and workforce needs. The study also identifies the issues of performance appraisal and compensation that can be addressed to improve HRM practices and attract and retain top talent, thereby contributing to the country's economic growth and development. Moreover, Iran's diversified economy offers HRM professionals opportunities to develop and implement effective performance management programs, particularly in extractive industries and other sectors such as manufacturing, tourism, technology, agriculture, and healthcare. Overall, the paper concludes that HRM in Iran is evolving, and HRM professionals must adapt to the changing environment to develop and implement effective HRM practices. Thus, the study provides valuable insights for practitioners and researchers interested in HRM practices in developing countries.

ABSTRACT. Over time, a systemic view of corruption developed, with early modern literature characterizing this phenomenon as a trans-temporal, trans-systemic and trans-cultural problem, existing within any form of organization in any period of time. Thus, the observation of the incidences of management in people's activity since the earliest periods intersects with the presence of corruption, this being as old as organized human life, as people are naturally opportunistic, positions of authority and trust inevitably generating incentives for corrupt behavior. Any type of organization, public or private, faces different challenges and uncertainties, both internal and external, corruption representing a factor with direct influence on organization’s performance, which is why effective anti-corruption strategies need to be tailored to the environment where this phenomenon occurs. Therefore, this paper presents a comprehensive review of the anti-corruption policies and how management has the capacity to effectively identify the risks which directly affects organization’s objectives and activity. The analysis begins reviewing the multiple forms and faces of corruption, its typology and levels, and debating some examples of anticorruption strategies. To this end, information collected from OECD, Transparency International Index, Global Corruption Barometer, was analyzed, the result indicating an increase in the incidence of corruption by up to 65% compared to the last decade, and a decrease in terms of efforts to fight corruption, only 34% of people surveyed considering the fight against corruption effective. Also, a bibliometric approach was made to evaluate the relationship between corruption acts and the management of organization, the authors of the analyzed articles, highlighting a direct link between management and the sphere of anti-corruption strategies

ABSTRACT. There has been an unprecedented drop in the medical travel market in the last three years. Early 2020, the first cases of Covid-19 spread around the world. Soon after, on the 11th of March 2020, the World Health Organization declared the Covid-19 outbreak a global pandemic, which put a stop to international travel and tourism, while hospitals, clinics, and other healthcare service providers around the world have closed their doors to non-urgent medical care, affecting all their resources to Covid-19 cases. Consequently, the pandemic disrupted the medical travel market and ever since, it put exceptional pressure on domestic healthcare systems, exacerbating the long waiting times and growing waiting lists for hospital treatment, that have always been a problem. With 7,21 million patients waiting for treatment on the NHS in England alone, patients are therefore encouraged to seek alternative solutions to their healthcare needs. The key objective of this paper is to determine the opportunities the pent-up demand caused by the long waiting lists for treatments in certain countries bring to those in the medical travel business and how to exploit them. Therefore, the first part of the work will be based on a comparative study on the waiting lists in UK, Spain and Canada, while the second part will represent different case studies enhancing the opportunities to capitalize on the pent-up demand in these three healthcare systems. The results of the study will help define new successful access to healthcare models, in order to reduce the waiting lists for hospital treatments and revitalize the medical travel.

ABSTRACT. In recent decades, economics has been trying to find more complex explanations for the social behaviour (of economic subjects) with regard to financial decisions. Individual intentions and actions have a direct and indirect impact on the individual's own state of affairs, and on the organisations and markets in which they operate. Starting from traditional economic theory (from Adam Smith onwards), scholars have presented arguments from sociological, psychological and neuroscientific disciplines that qualitatively complement explanations of the financial choices of economic subjects. This article brings attention to the concept of sustainable finance driven by conscious individual financial decisions to contribute to the sustainability of the economy, society and the natural environment. Human consciousness requires effort and energy, it requires the action of thinking. Studies show that in general people do not think but react emotionally and in social conformity. The realization of the article considers both qualitative and quantitative methods from statistics, psychology and sociology as quantitative data, critical analysis of experts. Preliminary results of the study bring to attention the concept of sustainable finance based on the process of value and value-enhancement. Conscious financial decisions can be driven by a certain price to be paid to benefit from goods essential to human life. A value price that can be monetary or non-monetary. According to prospect theory, the economic subject is risk averse in the area of gains and risk seeking in the area of losses. And sustainable finance includes the valuation of humanity's essential goods, in the long term (ensuring a good quality of the human good while respecting the limits and quality of the natural context).

ABSTRACT. Bitcoin and Ethereum are the two largest cryptocurrencies in the world by market capitalization and trading volume and the most popular despite high price fluctuations. This paper analyses the link between Bitcoin and Ethereum metrics and the internet search interest on cryptocurrencies. As the literature shows, Google searches signal investor attention and Google Trends has proven useful for nowcasting economic and financial indicators. We aim to find the impact of Google Trends on Bitcoin and Ethereum daily prices, market capitalization and trading volumes over time. This paper uses weekly data on Google Trends, daily data on cryptocurrencies prices and trading volumes and total market capitalization since 2017 and applies various statistical tests for linear and nonlinear dependence. The interest in cryptocurrencies tracked by Google Trends is a good indicator of measuring the social interest in the cryptocurrency market that drives a price movement. On the other hand, the price fluctuations of Bitcoin and Ethereum generate media and social attention and increase the interest in these cryptocurrencies. We also observed a positive effect of Google Trends values on trading volumes. The findings could help investors to understand the cryptocurrencies dynamics and build their trading strategies and could be of special interest to policymakers.

ABSTRACT. Exogenous shocks, such as the COVID-19 pandemic or the Russian conflict, had significant effects on the global economy, but primarily on the emerging economies that were supposed to implement safety measures to keep up with the other economies. Even though the critical moments have passed, the negative effects on the economy are still present in the current economic environment, which is beset by high levels of uncertainty. Being events with an uncertain probability of occurrence, but still existing, exogenous events are detrimental to economies regardless of their level of development. In fact, a framework for unanticipated events is vital, as are steps to achieve low levels of national debt and even increased authority stability. In this context, the objective of this paper is to examine the dynamic relationships between energy prices and certain macroeconomic variables, such as industrial production, inflation rate, production prices, central bank policy interest rates, and unemployment rates, which were affected by the fact that the energy crisis triggered by the Russian-Ukrainian conflict overlapped with the accelerated transition to a green economy and the decarbonization process. The CEE countries are more vulnerable to the energy crisis, and their proximity to the front lines of military conflict can be an important fact to take into account. The research focuses on the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, and Romania, which are European Union members but not EMU participants. The empirical analysis was conducted on monthly frequency data for non-Euro Area countries for the period 2007:1 to 2023:1. In order to present an effective method of modeling interactions between macroeconomic variables, the Bayesian technique was employed to account for a priori information from the data and to acknowledge each parameter as a random variable. A Bayesian VAR was utilized to demonstrate the stronger connections between global energy markets and national economies.

ABSTRACT. Corporate fraud has become more common and elaborate in today's increasingly complex economic environment, and numerous methods of committing fraud have emerged. Financial fraud has several negative consequences in the corporate sector because it causes declining market asset allocation efficiency and has a significant impact on trust and loyalty among all company stakeholders. In this context, the purpose of this article is to identify the various types of fraud at the company level by describing and classifying them based on the motivation and purpose for which they are conducted; additionally, different types of corporate financial crimes were analysed in a case study for Romania. Data for this study was collected from previous literature on this topic as well as multiple national databases on financial crime. Some of the types of fraud investigated include tax evasion, financial statement manipulation to make the business look good to financial data users, and bankruptcy fraud to deceive creditors. Financial fraud in corporations is a constantly evolving issue. In terms of the causes of this problem, there are issues with weak external supervision in addition to internal reasons within enterprises. The findings indicate that a multi-level mechanism, including corporate governance and internal control, legislation, and intermediary agencies and companies, is required to prevent financial fraud. Detecting financial fraud in companies on time has numerous benefits, including assisting investors in avoiding risks, avoiding long-term problems for businesses, and increasing general trust in the organization. This study contributes to the existing body of knowledge on corporate fraud and can be used as a resource for managers and regulators seeking to better understand fraud and improve the governance and internal control environment.

ABSTRACT. In investment practice gold is considered an asset with particular characteristics in certain market contexts that make it a valuable holding in investment portfolios. There are three well-known stylized facts of gold asset returns that help investors cope with special market conditions: (i) there is a low correlation with the market index especially in market downturns, (ii) historically, the price of gold has increased steadily, and (iii) gold is generally considered as a hedge against inflationary periods. These stylized facts motivate our research endeavor, particularly when adding the tremendous growth in crypto asset trading and the enhanced interest of investors, individual and institutional, towards them, and the highly inflationary times we live in. However, crypto assets markets remain highly volatile and marked by the collapse of FTX at the end of 2022 or the failure of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank this year. Our aim is to test the narrative that crypto assets can be considered a replacement of gold using recent evidence, thus showing the potential of crypto assets to be included in portfolios instead of gold in times when markets are struggling, compared to more booming times. We deconstruct this narrative and observe how returns observed on crypto assets compare with the stylized facts of gold asset returns. Data on gold prices and crypto assets were collected from Thomson Reuters/Eikon for the 2020-2023 period. The results of the paper are useful for investors that are considering adding crypto assets to their portfolios from a risk-return trade-off perspective.

ABSTRACT. ESG standing for Environmental, Social, and Governance is a framework for evaluating the sustainability and societal impact of a company or investment. In recent years, investors and other stakeholders increasingly consider ESG factors when making investment decisions, as they have become more interested in investing in companies that prioritize sustainability and responsible business practices. Considering that companies with strong ESG practices are more likely to be financially sustainable and better positioned for long-term success, many companies now report on their ESG performance. As a result, there are a growing number of ESG ratings agencies and indices that are designed to provide investors with a way to invest in companies that are considered to be more sustainable and ethical in their operations. Typically these indices use a combination of quantitative and qualitative analysis to evaluate companies based on ESG criteria and then assign scores or ratings to each company. ESG scores can be also used by each company, benchmarking themselves against industry peers, to identify best practices, and take steps to improve their ESG performance, in order to build a more sustainable and ethical business and reduce their risk of ESG-related controversies. The approach of sustainability from an ESG perspective is used worldwide for over 50 years, but on the Romanian Capital Market, is still extremely modest, with only a small number of listed companies reporting on their ESG performance. Using ESG scores from Refinitiv, the purpose of this article is to present the ranking of listed Romanian companies from the ESG perspective, at the level of the 2021 and 2020 fiscal years. Preliminary results show that a very limited number of companies listed on the Romanian capital market can be evaluated from Refinitiv ESG scores perspective, but in general, the evaluated companies often record satisfactory values of these scores.

ABSTRACT. Abstract: In the literature, we found very limited contributions on the main issue of non-linear revenues and costs and, normally, they are not even well defined; beyond this, the few authors who tackle this issue, limit themselves to study non-linear pricing alone, without considering costs and the relevant relationships between the two variables. Nevertheless, in the real world, both prices and costs very often rise or fall， in different ways, with a serious impact on companies’ profitability. To make things worse, a questionnaire-based research on a sample of entrepreneurs, suggests that apparently there is among them a serious level of illiteracy regarding even elementary aspects of price and pricing. Still, price is the only element of the marketing mix that generates revenues and profit and, therefore, it plays a fundamental role in case of for-profit companies to survive and develop. In fact, an excellent business idea, a professional and dedicated personnel, a good organization, an advanced technology and so on, will be useless if entrepreneurs can’t fix and adapt the price of their products in the appropriate way. In this paper, we firstly highlight, the results of our research which shows a critical lack of entrepreneurial knowledge, as far as price and pricing policies are concerned; secondly, we define correctly non-linear revenues and costs and we also explain the necessity of analysing them simultaneously. Finally, what is even more important, we extend the basic break-even model, to provide a simple but effective way, to make possible some fundamental calculations even in case of on-linear revenues and costs. Apart from filling in an important gap, the paper also clearly highlights the necessity to have a less theoretical and more practical Business Administration guidelines, so to provide real and effective solutions for entrepreneurs, and let them appreciate the discipline’s contribution.

ABSTRACT. This study aims to obtain empirical evidence on the effect of sustainability report disclosure on management's opportunistic behavior, and to prove the moderating effect of risk management committee on the relationship between sustainability report disclosure and management's opportunistic behavior.

This study uses samples of 271 non-financial sector companies that published sustainability reports and are listed on the Indonesia Stock Exchange (IDX) during the 2017 to 2021 period. Quantitative approach with moderate regression analysis using IBM SPSS Statistic 27 software is used to determine the result.

The results show sustainability report disclosure has a significant negative effect on management's opportunistic behavior. Meaning that a higher disclosure on sustainability reporting leads to a lower opportunistic behavior conducted by management. It is also found that the risk management committee has a significant effect in strengthening the relationship between sustainability report disclosure and management’s opportunistic behavior. Additionally, an independent risk management committee is proven to be more effective in minimizing management's opportunistic behavior, compared to a dependent one.

This study contributes to the literature on sustainability report disclosure related to management opportunistic behavior and risk management committee. This research also contributes to the government’s encouragement to make sustainability report disclosure a mandatory requirement for companies listed on the stock exchange. Through this research, it is hoped that companies will become more aware of the importance of sustainability report disclosure and start prioritizing it in every policy and decision. Additionally, this research findings are hoped to increase companies’ awareness on the benefit of establishing an independent risk management committee.

ABSTRACT. Since the beginning of globalization, financial issues were a critical dimension of the process because of the significant increase in capital flows, the supporting role in the growth of international trade, opportunities for risk sharing and finnancial innovation. The commonly positive effects of deeper changes, such as the growing interconnection of monetary policy at global level and the emergence of truly global financial institutions are ment to balance the unpredictable effects of power shifts in the use of global currencies, the contagion mechanisms or the spread of unregulated cryptocurrency markets. Contagion has generally been studied in crises context, but it can equally appear during „good times”. There are two types of contagion: fundamental and irrational. Fundamental contagion describes the process through which a crisis can produce effects on the fundamental indicators of an economy. The other type of contagion, the irrational one, is spread through the fear of foreign investors. Using the conceptual lens of contagion, this paper explores the relationship between the synchronized monetary policy in developed countries, particularly the increase of the interest rates, and the recent crisis of the banking systems. The preliminary results show that high inflation rates required a monetary policy focused on reducing the money supply. This policy undermined the health of savings and investment banks, which generally make long-term fixed-rate mortgage loans. The assets they have are fixed income. When interest rates rise, these mortgages lose a lot of value, reducing the net worth of the most cautious investors in the sector. This dynamic is found in most bank failures recorded in 2023. Based on the short-term evolutions, the paper contributes to a better understanding of this new form of financial contagion, caused by the monetary policies.

ABSTRACT. Traditional reports have proven to have a lot of limitations, this is why starting in 2010, Integrated Reporting has started to be more valued and promoted, in order to provide a more comprehensive picture of the company's value and performance. The latest innovations in the field of reporting are focused on various key indicators pertaining to sustainability and other non-financial information. The aim of our research is to analyze the current framework of the matter and to discover how Romanian companies chose to disseminate non-financial information and to which degree. The case study sample in our research is based on the companies that are part of the BET 20 Index. Our approach in the development of the study starts from the international context towards the particularities of the Romanian circumstances, focusing not only on the problems but also on the possible solutions. Our findings suggest that there is a lot of work to be done in this area and improvements should bring greater performance and a better perception from investors. At the same time, our research strongly suggests that due to the variety of voluntary standards, there is a lack of clarity perceived also by the reporting entities and this may be an impediment to the efficiency of the integrated reporting pursuits. A strong recommendation will be made for the development of a unitary framework, which will aid in the application and also in the use of the reports, fostering comparability and coherence in macroeconomic analysis. Future research perspectives will be focused on uncovering the benefits of integrated reporting practices and scientifically proving their effects on the value of the company.

ABSTRACT. This research paper investigates the impact of augmented reality (AR) on consumers' perceptions of product packaging and their purchase intentions. The study utilized the Microsoft HoloLens AR kit to provide participants with an immersive AR experience of a product's packaging and additional information about the product. Twenty participants were recruited for the study and randomly assigned to either an AR or a control group. We test the conceptual model using the Partial Least Squares-Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) approach. The results showed that the AR group had a significantly higher perception of the product's packaging, perceived value, and trust in the brand than the control group. Furthermore, the AR group exhibited a higher purchase intention than the control group. The findings of this study suggest that the AR experience has the potential to positively influence consumers' perception of product packaging and their purchase intention. By providing consumers with a more immersive and interactive experience, AR technology could help product designers and marketers to create a more engaging and memorable product experience that drives purchase intention. The findings also highlight the potential for AR technology to improve consumer engagement with products and brands. The study's results have important implications for consumer behavior analysts and product designers seeking to improve their packaging process. Using AR technology, product designers can create a more personalized and interactive experience that could increase consumer engagement with the product and enhance their purchase intentions. Additionally, businesses can leverage AR technology to enhance the product experience and create a more immersive and engaging buying process that appeals to consumers.

ABSTRACT. Sales lead calling is a vital aspect of prospecting necessary to build a robust pipeline, where inside salespeople make outbound calls to marketing-generated leads. The unsolicited nature of this context results in cold, constrained interactions that require salespeople tasked with lead calling to overcome much resistance from buyers. Yet, despite the importance of this critical initial step in the sales cycle and the challenges faced by salespeople engaging in this task, extant literature provides little guidance on what salespeople can do to enhance lead calling effectiveness. This research examines salespeople’s use of voice, comprised of verbal and vocal cues, to direct buyer receptivity during lead calling to successfully close. Specifically, we draw on Speech Act Theory to conceptualize linguistic speech acts that assure the buyer of call legitimacy, pique curiosity in the sales message, and nudge the buyer toward some future course of action. We hypothesize that salesperson speech acts (i.e., assuring, piquing, nudging) enhance buyer receptivity in sales lead calling and further posit that vocal delivery (i.e., intensity, pitch, speech rate) moderates buyer reception of those speech acts. We employed acoustic and textual analysis of 802 sales lead calls with 12,224 speaking turns from a Fortune-500 B2B firm's inside sales team to study the naturalistic flow of sales lead calling interactions. Analysis reveals that salesperson use of assuring, piquing, and nudging tactics and their effectiveness moderated by salesperson’s pitch, intensity, and speech rate drives sales lead closing by shaping buyer receptivity. For instance, a 20% increase in buyer receptivity raises closing odds by 54.03% and salespeople who speak 20% faster while communicating value increase buyer receptivity by 6.95%. Results provide tangible directives for sales lead calling training, which could have substantial economic impacts to firms since U.S. companies alone spend over $15M on sales lead calling training each year.

ABSTRACT. This paper analyzes how the fiscal measures regarding cryptocurrencies have been adopted in the OECD and EU. This study arises as a result of the rapid development of cryptocurrencies and investments in crypto-assets, but also of the need to maintain fiscal transparency at the global level. Due to these complex elements of transactions with virtual currencies, it is necessary to regulate these transactions worldwide, so that the OECD was mandated in April 2021 by the G20 to develop a legislative framework regarding the automatic exchange of fiscal data in a standardized manner. The main purpose of this paper is to analyze the evolution of fiscal measures regarding transactions with virtual currencies in the OECD and the EU. I believe that this aspect is particularly important considering the increasing interest in trading with virtual currencies. On the other hand, in the subsidiary the objective is to carry out a comparative analysis of the fiscal treatment applied to cryptocurrency transactions in the following countries: SWEDEN, PORTUGAL, USA and ROMANIA. This analysis is necessary to highlight the differences between the fiscal systems adopted in these countries. As a general conclusion of this work is that all states agree on how virtual currencies are defined, but the fiscal policies adopted by each state lead to different results and fiscal consequences. In 2022, the OECD approved the Crypto-Asset Reporting Framework (CAFR), which provides for the standardized reporting of fiscal information. Thus, it is expected that CAFR will have a major impact regarding the adaptation, rectification, modification of fiscal legislation regarding the fiscal treatment of transactions with virtual currencies. At the EC level, a provisional agreement was reached regarding the European regulation on crypto-asset markets, which together with DAC 8 we hope for a unitary treatment of the applicability of fiscal policies at the EU level.

ABSTRACT. The article is trying to analyze the evolution of inflation versus cryptocurrencies prices and try to establish if there is a relationship direct or indirect between the two phenomena. Inflation is influenced by a wide range of economic factors, such as the money supply, interest rates, government policies, and global economic conditions. Cryptocurrency prices on the other hand, are driven by a variety of factors, including supply and demand dynamics, market sentiment, and regulatory developments. For example, an increase in demand for a particular cryptocurrency can drive up its price, while negative news or regulatory action can lead to a decrease in price. That being said, there are some potential indirect ways in which cryptocurrency prices could impact inflation. For example, if a significant number of investors lose money in the cryptocurrency market it could lead to a reduction in consumer spending and investment, which could have a broader impact on the economy and potentially contribute to a decrease in inflation. The price decrease in cryptocurrencies itself is not a way to decrease inflation, as the two are not directly related. Inflation is a general increase in the prices of goods and services in an economy, while the price of cryptocurrencies is determined by supply and demand factors in the cryptocurrency markets. It's worth noting that the relationship between cryptocurrencies and inflation is complex and not yet fully understood. While some investors and analysts view cryptocurrencies as a potential hedge against inflation, others argue that the high volatility and speculative nature of cryptocurrencies make them a risky investment that may not provide reliable protection against inflation. As with any investment or economic phenomenon, it's important to evaluate the risks and benefits of cryptocurrencies and their potential impact on inflation in a careful and nuanced way.

ABSTRACT. This paper presents research on technologies that can facilitate direct interactions with customers, offering unique and attractive experiences when using artificial intelligence. As per the 2019 survey conducted by BearingPoint, two major categories of developing AI technologies are found to enhance the overall customer experience: (1) technologies that allow direct interaction with customers, and (2) technologies that enable more efficient handling of customer requests and expectations. Regarding the technologies that facilitate direct interactions with customers, there are POS technologies, AI-powered chatbots, digital voice assistants, etc. These technologies transform and enhance the customer experience, thus making shopping more appealing and interesting. The motivation for choosing this topic is that it gives a global, current perspective and arouses interest, curiosity, uncertainty, even fear. The research question is implemented with the help of an empirical investigation among retail representatives and customers to pinpoint if modern technologies that facilitate direct interactions with customers is the solution for achieving higher performance in the retail field, but without being used unethically. The originality of the research consists in investigating the behavior of generation Z towards technologies powered by Artificial Intelligence in the retail sphere, in an emerging market. Considering the direction in which the technologies that facilitate direct interactions with customers is evolving and based on the arguments of specialists, it seems that these will represent an element of distinction and competitive advantage. Companies in the retail sector that will invest in the development of Artificial Intelligence will benefit in the long term. These technologies should not be absent from the retail context, and further investment should be made in its development.

ABSTRACT. Programmatic advertising emerged in the 20000s with the promise of streamlining the online media buying process. It provided advertisers the means of automating the buying of millions of advertising impressions and helped publishers increase their inventory fill rate, which fueled the rapid growth of the market. The use of automated media buying algorithms led to a significant decrease of the costs related to campaign setup and management and provided a new, potentially significant, income source for online publishers. After years of unregulated growth, the rise of ever more complex algorithms, coupled with a lack of transparency from the Advertising Technology (AdTech) companies that own them, led to complaints that the programmatic media buying process functions effectively as a black box. This paper aims at describing the functioning of programmatic advertising and at mapping the programmatic supply chain. Given that, in the recent years, multiple legal inquiries have been opened regarding the working of programmatic media buying algorithms, the paper also analyzes whether the technology could potentially confer undue advantages to some of the market players. The article makes use of newly available data, resulting from the legal actions undertaken against the AdTech companies, and provides a more complete description of the programmatic media buying process. The findings show that, far from being neutral, the AdTech technology can be used to distort the normal functioning of the market. The results of this study can help advertisers, publishers and regulators better understand how the online advertising market works and opens new research questions for scholars.

ABSTRACT. The economy has been digitalizing corporate operations over the past few years, and this process is progressing quite quickly. The rise of so-called digital business models and the transformation of old business models are topics covered in specialized literature. In light of this economic reality, the demand for sufficient, fast, accurate, and verified business information is growing more pressing. The legal requirements and an organization's capacity to add value are equivalent in terms of their accountability for their consequences and capacity for environmental adaptation. Without adhering to this rule, businesses run the risk of going out of business. Successful management of social, ethical, environmental, and other non-financial elements by leaders contributes to the creation of a strong, resilient business that can provide sustained value to its stakeholders. Standard financial reporting is no longer enough due to the growth of the concepts of sustainable business development and the requirement to adhere to NFR guidelines. The majority of businesses currently place a high priority on self-reported non-financial data and provide yearly non-financial statements. Non-financial reporting's goal is to address stakeholders' information requirements and demands by giving organizations fast, accurate, trustworthy, and objective information on their environmental, economic, social, and governance performance. In this paper, a survey of the literature and a study case were carried out, showing that the paradigm of reporting is changing. In both financial and non-financial statements, reporting reveals a growing proportion of non-financial data and its evolving scope. The key difficulty for businesses is how to effectively communicate with various stakeholder groups, in addition to maximizing stakeholder participation in non-financial reporting methods. Technology and digitalization now play a key and dominant role in the methods and tools used to engage stakeholders.

ABSTRACT. The purpose of the paper will be to examine the specifics of the manipulation of large objects in the database of an application - recording, storage, processing, transmission over the network. Some literature sources dealing with this topic will be reviewed and after that some specifics of working with large objects will be presented. The paper will also address the advantages of using large objects in application development. Some new software products that assist in the storage of large objects will also be reviewed. Large Objects (LOBs) are a set of data types in Oracle DBMS, Microsoft SQL Server etc. LOBs are designed to store large amounts of data. Large objects are for huge files such as audio and video files. LOBs can support a maximum file size ranging from 8 terabytes to 128 terabytes. Large objects are suitable for storing semi-structured and unstructured data. Storing data in large objects allows data to be accessed and manipulated efficiently within an application. The data in the application's database, with the accumulation of many audio and video files, will at some point begin to meet the rules of big data, and its processing and storage must be carried out by specialized big data environments. The problems of transferring and storing large objects in specialized big data environments will be discussed. Data transfer between different environments will be addressed. The format and content of the data must be preserved, and this leads to the need to comply with several conditions, which will be considered.

ABSTRACT. DIMENSIONS OF COMPANY PERFORMANCE

Aida-Lavinia Neagoe (Barbu) Lucian Blaga University, Sibiu, Romania aidalavinia.neagoe@ulbsibiu.ro

Abstract: Globalization, along with the increasing competition and the uncertainty of today's dynamic business environment, are putting more pressure on companies to constantly seek methods, techniques, and solutions to improve their ability to adapt in order to achieve, to improve, and to maintain performance in every possible manner. In a classical (traditional) approach, the main goal of all organizations is to be profitable, and the financial results (profitability, revenue, expenses, assets, liabilities) are usually the first thing that is considered when it comes to company performance. Though the financial performance is a very important aspect and the ability to generate profit is a crucial factor for a company’ s success, the overall firm performance is a significantly more complex, extremely vast, and widely used concept. There is no generally accepted and unitary definition; it is a concept that has evolved over time, and has now been extended with two new dimensions: social and environmental. The aim of this article is first of all to present some theoretical and conceptual approaches related to the concept of firm global performance, its definition, and the ways to analyze and measure it, as they have been previously presented in the academic literature, and also to propose an approach to firm performance that goes beyond the economic and financial area, including both financial and non-financial aspects, and to present it as an aggregate of the positive returns given by the financial area, social field, environmental protection, customer satisfaction, and the achievement and development of human capital. Keywords: firm performance, efficiency, profitability, global performance

ABSTRACT. Sustainability has become one of the most frequently employed terms to describe the three primary notions: economic, environmental, and social. Consequently, in order for Romania to achieve fair and sustainable economic growth, being a part to the Paris Agreement through the European Union, it is necessary to look into the value added produced by SMEs. In this context, development of small and medium enterprises at a large scale can only be achieved through effective implementation of inclusive finance instruments, governed by the sustainable development framework, with acknowledgement of risks involved within certain domains and measures to be taken in order to minimize the negative effects on the environment. Our study seeks to investigate, through econometric analysis of data available within Eurostat and World Bank databases, if is there a direct relationship between entrepreneurial market development rate and the sustainable development of the country, and to what extent the SMEs contribute to reaching the sustainability goals. Are sustainability rules and regulations a short-term cost increase generator for the small companies and how are they perceived? Is funding assured through Invest EU program a prerogative for building transition towards climate neutral business models? We may conclude that, in the context of pursuing sustainable development, it is critical to provide a large-scale framework through which SMEs may see sustainability as a business opportunity rather than an economic restriction. This will ensure an increasing direct contribution to augmented results in terms of economic growth, as well as responsible production, lower environmental negative effects (in terms of CO2 emissions, waste generation, biodiversity protection), and poverty eradication (by creating additional job opportunities based on social employment, integration and education, gender equality).

ABSTRACT. Cross-cultural management in 2023 is a complex and dynamic field that requires understanding and navigating cultural differences and their impact on business operations. With the increasing globalization of the economy, managers must be prepared to work with people from diverse cultural backgrounds, whether they are employees, suppliers, or customers. In 2023, cross-cultural management will continue to evolve and be influenced by new technological advances and changing socio-economic conditions, requiring managers to stay up-to-date with the latest developments and best practices in this field. This paper provides an overview of the field of cross-cultural management and its importance in today's competitive business world. The paper begins by defining cross-cultural management and highlighting its relevance to companies operating in multicultural environments. The paper then discusses the various cultural dimensions that affect management practices, including communication styles, leadership styles, and decision-making processes. The paper presents the top Best Company Cultures, anonymously rated on Comparably.com by current employees in nearly 20 different workplace dimensions: from compensation, work-life balance, and leadership to career growth and perks and benefits. Moreover, the paper highlights the importance of cross-cultural training for managers and employees, which can enhance their cultural competence and ability to work effectively across cultures. The paper concludes by discussing the future of cross-cultural management and the need for ongoing research and development in this field to help organizations thrive in an increasingly interconnected and diverse world. Overall, this paper aims to provide a comprehensive understanding of cross-cultural management and its implications for businesses operating in multicultural environments.

ABSTRACT. The present-day interconnected global society has seen a diminished significance of borders and a growing interdependence between companies and their stakeholders. For every organization, regardless of its size, sector or geographic location, the leverage and influence wielded by these key stakeholders plays a pivotal role. The interdependence between stakeholders and corporate sustainability (CS) forms the foundation for creating economic, social, and environmental performance and long-term sustainable value for the stakeholder ecosystem. The aim of the paper is to examine significant aspects related to the stakeholder dimension of corporate sustainability. This research employs a methodology that draws upon both literature review and bibliometric analysis, performed using VOSviewer. Within its objective, the paper has identified stakeholder engagement as a critical and emerging theme. A modern stakeholder approach, which emphasizes the importance of communication, collaboration and engagement, has become imperative in introducing a paradigm shift towards arriving at a multifaceted understanding of stakeholder dynamics. Through the review of existing literature, several aspects emerged in relation to the researched theme. Amid present-day challenges, there is a growing discourse surrounding the expansion towards a multi-stakeholder approach, wherein both the wider society and the natural environment are recognized as important stakeholders. In the context of sustainability, the examination of organizational relationships with stakeholders has revealed additional trends: the need to foster a pro-sustainability mindset among all stakeholders, the cultivation of a shared interest in sustainability and the empowerment of stakeholders to act as intermediaries for nature and sustainable development. The paper offers recommendations based on the research results and findings, which have implications not only for academics and researchers, but also for managers who are formulating and implementing their corporate strategies so as to better align with sustainability challenges.

ABSTRACT. The naming of sustainability reports varies internationally. Many reports originally titled environmental reports, were renamed corporate social responsibility reports (CSR) and later sustainability reports. In the current context, at the organizational levels, there is a tendency to include social and environmental dimensions, in a common report, published alongside traditional financial reports. Directive 2014/95/EU argues that the presentation of non-financial information is a key element in managing the transition to a sustainable global economy that combines long-term profitability with social justice and environmental protection. Later, to meet the current reporting requirements, Directive 2022/2464/EU was published, which completely reshapes the European reporting framework on sustainability reporting, changing the name of the requirements imposed by the directive from non-financial reporting to sustainability reporting. To capture the opportunity of implementing integrated reporting, which allows stakeholders to assess the economic, environmental and social performance of a business, revealing a company's ability to create long-term value, this paper conducts a study of the evolution of sustainability reporting at the corporate level, including financial, non-financial and integrated reporting. An integrated report that brings together in a single document information on the financial and non-financial performance of companies, promotes the idea of creating value for both the company and society, and ensures the premises for the creation of a truly sustainable society. The present work aims to carry out an analysis of the concept of integrated thinking in corporate sustainability reporting, based on the literature research. Integrated thinking promotes collaboration between all constituent parts of an organization, taking into account the connectivity and interdependencies between different factors that affect an organization's ability to create value.

ABSTRACT. Understanding how businesses can improve in a sustainable environment has an increasingly significant role in the economic context and its growth. At present, sustainable companies are constantly reducing the pressure of law, diminishing the costs of utilities, as well as cultivating a culture inside the working context. More than 90% of CEOs of environmental companies acknowledge that sustainability represents essential business market growth. Green businesses prioritize sustainability and social responsibility in their operations and environmental business practices, as they aim to conserve the natural environment and promote green practices while ensuring high levels of profitability and reducing the carbon footprint. Unfortunately, over time companies have faced significant barriers such as affording green investments and the costs implied, or analysing the market demand, due to not all the systems and governments aligning with the emergent models of a green economy. The public sector should however play an important role when considering sustainability by promoting green operations and policies, applying regulatory alternatives, and providing more concrete incentives for green businesses. Nowadays, green enterprises have grown in importance in the economic environment cultivating more shared green values. Therefore, promoting green entrepreneurship among all segments of society is a focus both at the policy level and inside the business culture. This paper aims to define concepts of economic growth and sustainable development around the business context and to understand how sustainable companies relate to the 3E's of the green economy, as these appear to determine business longevity and help maintain a positive business reputation among other businesses.

ABSTRACT. Indonesia is a country with a majority of Muslim population with the total of 87%, this makes Indonesia as a potential country for collecting Islamic philanthropy funds, consisting of zakat, infaq, shadaqah, and waqf (ZISWAF). According to the National Amil Zakat Agency (BAZNAS), the potential of zakat in Indonesia reaches up to 233.8 trillion rupiah per year. On the other hand, the collection of Zakat by BAZNAS is still relatively small compared to this potential, this was shown in 2020 that only 5% of the zakat potential was able to be collected. The reason for the low zakat funds collected by BAZNAS is that most of the Muslim community in Indonesia give zakat funds directly to mustahik or to the local zakat collecting committee. The same applies to infaq, shadaqah and waqf funds (especially cash waqf and waqf through money). Therefore, the use of fintech can be a solution to facilitate Muslims in making payments of Islamic philanthropy funds, one of which is through the Kitabisa application. This study aims to identify the effect of perceived ease of use and perceived usefulness on the intention of using the Kitabisa application to make Islamic philanthropy payments. This research uses the SEM-PLS method with a sample of Muslim community who have worked and are obliged to pay zakat and have never used the Kitabisa application. The number of returned and valid questionnaires was 100 respondents. The results of the hypothesis testing showed that perceived ease of use and perceived usefulness have a significant effect on one's intention of use and attitude for Islamic philanthropy payments. However, the attitude variable is not significant to intention of use. This research is expected to provide benefits to the Kitabisa management and application developers to improve the campaign.

ABSTRACT. The objective of the paper is to highlight the volatility of wind energy production, the renewable source of energy whose output is the most difficult to predict due to its dependence on climatic factors. The present research helps to analyze the risks assumed both by the producers who choose to invest in wind farms and the operator who has to balance the national energy system in case of production fluctuations. Many times, these risks are taken over, without their knowledge, by the final consumers who have to pay higher prices for the energy consumed. In the study, the EGARCH model was applied with the help of EVIEWS 12 software on a data series updated at least every 10 hours (1405 entries) regarding the evolution of wind energy production from January 2021 to January 2023. As a rule, the EGARCH model is used to analyze the volatility of indices in the financial field, but the present study, as well as others before, showed that it also fits perfectly in the case of renewable energy, the statistical tests applied to the results proving this fact. The results of the study show a GARCH term of 0.936, which points out a volatility comparable to some of the riskiest international stock indices. This volatility is reflected through increases in balancing costs, ultimately borne by the energy consumers on the national market. Against this background, it is necessary to increase the stability of the national energy system, so that the balancing process would be less expensive and less dependent on imports. The solutions are varied - from the creation of stable non-polluting production capacities, such as the nuclear ones, to the thorough analysis of the characteristics of the areas where production systems from renewable sources are installed.

ABSTRACT. Today society is confronted with numerous and complex crises. COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted not only global vulnerabilities and inequalities, but also their interconnections and interdependences with the whole human societies, at least in terms of health, education, social, legal environmental and economic development. Thus, one viable, sustainable and resilient alternative way to support development to better face the crises is the need to benefit on the opportunities people can gain in terms of cooperation, collaboration, and solidarity. The complex interconnected crisis can be seen as a wake-up call to the whole world to reconsider their trust and continued support for globalization. Thus it welcomes collaboration, co -working, co-creation such as to better support local communities and mostly vulnerable people. There is a high demand to involve more NGOs in rebuilding sustainable, smart, inclusive, competitive and resilient socio-economic systems. NGOs play a key role in promoting sustainable development and their leaders need to find viable solutions. The paper aims to highlight some of these new visions that support the need to involved more local communities, organisations and NGOs. The research methodology focus on qualitative research, namely interviews with NGO leaders. Telephone interviews were carried out in order to find out what efforts leaders are willing and available to make such as to support the shift towards sustainable, inclusive, and resilient development. The leaders' answers and the solutions they presented are part of our research promoting innovation, digital transformation, online transactions, and many other, more human oriented alternatives. NGO leaders are aware that they have an important role in promoting sustainable development by implementing sustainable practices in non-profit organizations. The research found that there are many challenges and barriers NGOs have to face. One of the key factors leaders had highlighted refers to identify the best financial alternative solutions.

ABSTRACT. This article acknowledges the current turbulent economic environment and aims to research alternative methods of funding, as an attempt to successfully overcome the limitations of traditional ways of acquiring capital. Business accelerators and incubators are crucial for fostering the growth and development of new business ventures in Romania. However, they face significant funding challenges, due to economic uncertainties, such as inflation evolution or supply chain disruptions, which hinder their ability to provide necessary resources and services to their clients. We examined existing research on the funding challenges, highlighting the importance of innovation and sustainable crowd funding. The study used mostly secondary data, a brief analysis based on best practice examples. Furthermore, we proposed a comparative analysis between the Romanian and the European Union environment. The results identify the primary funding challenges, including a lack of public funding and support, limited access to private investment and difficulties in proving their value proposition to investors. The article proposes several funding alternatives, which leverage innovation and sustainable crowd funding, which could be partnerships with corporations to create open innovation programs that provide funding, mentorship, and resources to new ventures or exploration of sustainable crowd funding as a funding alternative, where investors seek both financial returns and social impact or these entities could leverage social impact investing to fund their operations and also seeking international funding sources (European Union grants or venture capital funds), thus overcoming the current limited bank funding. For each alternative we analyzed the potential benefits and drawbacks and suggested implications for policymakers, investors and entrepreneurs for overcoming turbulent economic times. We argued that business accelerators and incubators could consider inflation-indexed funding and pricing strategies to maintain their value and support start-ups during periods of high inflation, in order to support the survival, growth and development of the Romanian start-up ecosystem.

ABSTRACT. It is possible that economic factors can play a role in the effectiveness of a country's law enforcement system (LES). Inadequate funding can result in a lack of resources and training for law enforcement officers, which can lead to reduced effectiveness in preventing and solving crimes. Additionally, economic disparities can lead to high levels of corruption within law enforcement, which can further hinder its effectiveness. The current paper aims to bring forth the importance of understanding that the effectiveness of law enforcement is strongly connected with economic prosperity of one’s country and its impact on the law enforcement leadership structures. We are underlining the main causes of ineffective law enforcement management strategies, while pointing out the best ways to improve the effectiveness of management and leadership strategies of the LES. The article will show, trough a secondary data analysis the manner, in which the evolution of criminal activities is strongly connected with the development of economic development of one’s country. However, it is important to note that the effectiveness of a law enforcement system is a complex issue that can be influenced by a variety of factors beyond just economic considerations, such as cultural attitudes, political stability, and legal frameworks. Therefore, it would be necessary to conduct a detailed analysis of the specific circumstances in Romania to determine the extent to which economic factors are contributing to any issues with its law enforcement system.

ABSTRACT. The knowledge economy, globalization, different profound crises - financial, environmental or social are putting pressure over universities’ mission. Complementary to the first two traditional missions of universities - learning and teaching, and research -, a third mission emerged in order to identify the contribution of universities to economic and social development, more broadly defined as the interactions between universities and society at large. A new concept evolved in time to acknowledge the third mission, the entrepreneurial university. The transition from the research university to entrepreneurial university has its origins in USA (MIT and Stanford University) and still has more relevance and resonance in the US as compared to Europe. The entrepreneurial university is more effective in US as compared to Europe for at least two reasons: the type of financing that predominates (private funds and corporate contracts as compared to public funds) is stimulating the natural orientation to the market of US universities; the approach undertaken by universities is different: a bottom-up approach in US universities that were first movers towards more applied research, transfer of knowledge and innovative technology and support to the industry as compared to top-down approach in European universities where universities are asked to become more accountable in exchange of the funds they receive. This paper has two research objectives: 1) to present the evolution of the concept of entrepreneurial university 2) to identify the path and drivers for transforming a university in a more entrepreneurial one

ABSTRACT. Culture is a common term and remains unchanged. However, globalization and international economic relations have constantly changed culture in both positive and negative ways. Globalization allows rapid access to technology and communication imposes conditions of efficiency to offer consumers popular products. Globalization links cultures and international relations on a variety of levels; economic, political, social etc. In the last period, the specialized literature has offered several indications regarding the transferability of modern management principles between diverse cultures. Research undertaken has shown that most cross-cultural studies are transnational studies, which involves comparing social, cultural, political, and economic systems and not only culture. Managers have used globalization to achieve their goal of understanding cultures. Initially they focused on how countries, people and organizations interact, and globalization significantly influences the work within organizations. Understanding culture, globalization and international relations is essential to know the future of the economy, of organizations. Culture, globalization, and management are becoming increasingly interdependent. the coordination of the three enables a country or people to be powerful and influential. Everyone wanted globalization, but very few benefited. The available resources (people, materials, information, etc.) properly used become the key to the future and survival of one's culture. To highlight this aspect, the research analysed and isolated the role of managerial culture by controlling political, economic, and educational variables.

ABSTRACT. At the root of success in the tough competition, characterized by many unknowns which affect the way of business is conducted, is the quality of management. The universality of management is an undeniable reality, and its importance is all the more obvious as organizations become more complex. This study focuses on some of the most important variables that condition the quality of management. The variables are multiple, but the most important ones refer to the quality of human resources, which is reflected in personal skills and qualities, and the quality of decisions made within the management activity. The quality of the information is added to them, since they represent the "raw material" of the foundation, adoption and operationalization and follow-up of managerial decisions. Moreover, doing effective business today involves providing the right information at the right time, to the right people. Also particular importance are the quality of the managerial tools used and last, but not least, the quality of the procedural and structural organization. Improving the quality of management implies, on the one hand, attracting and keeping talented and competent employees in the company, it being known that performance is an exclusive result of the quality of the human factor. On the other hand, the decision-making system in the management of the organization needs a priority treatment, given the importance of the decision which remains the biggest source of business risk. Regarding the managerial tools, it is recommended to promote modern management systems, methods and techniques adapted to the needs of each organization, but also to the managerial functions for which they are used. Fundamental importance are here: decision-making decentralization, avoiding high specialization at the job level that generates routine and reducing the extent to which organizations are based on strict rules.

ABSTRACT. Human capital is an intangible resource that, for a company, is more important than any other tangible assets. Like any other assets, the role of human capital is to bring profit to the company after an investment is made into it. Human capital is the economic value of a worker’s experience and skills and it includes things such as education, training, intelligence, skills, health, and other things employers’ value such as loyalty and punctuality. Human capital is an intangible asset and thus it isn’t listed on the balance sheet of a company, it is also perceived to increase productivity and thus profitability (the more investment a company makes in its employees, the chances of its productivity and success becomes higher). Investment in human capital benefits individual workers as well as the economy in which they participate, creating greater earning potential and an increased ability to build wealth. The paper aims to present the importance of investing in the human capital of organizations, it representing an investment in the future of the organization and the efforts of organizations in our country in attracting, developing and preserving human capital, the most important intangible asset of the organization.

ABSTRACT. The last 15 years have shown that the world is in continuous change. The dynamics of this process is at a very high level due to global phenomena. We can mention the economic crisis from 2008-2010, which had a devastating impact on many businesses, with a direct negative impact on jobs. We can also mention the global Covid-19 pandemic, which had negative effects on people in general, but also on the entrepreneurial environment. In addition, the war in Ukraine generated even more uncertainty, but also concern, at the European and global levels. The main objective of this research work is to highlight the problems faced by entrepreneurs, but also the opportunities they can identify in these periods of multiple crises, at the local, national, and international levels. In order to obtain the results, I identified a series of entrepreneurs from different fields, who crossed these difficult periods, and who transformed their businesses. I will present the vision they had in the past and the one they have now, but also the predictability of entrepreneurs. Depending on all these aspects, the adaptability of business people and employees can be evaluated. Following the interviews conducted, the analysis of documents and studies, and some preliminary results can be presented: the entrepreneurs try to adapt to all the problems and challenges encountered. Some of them succeeded and even identified opportunities in other directions, and others gave up. In all these difficult periods, new brave entrepreneurs appeared, who thought creatively and took their businesses to a higher level. Most businesses have changed a lot in the last 15 years. One of the main reasons is represented by the complex digitization process, both in the public and private sectors. Most of the interviewed entrepreneurs have as their main objective: the sustainability of their companies.

ABSTRACT. The objective of this study is to examine the international management accounting professional bodies’ (IMAPB) responses to the automation-driven evolution of Enterprise Resource Planning systems (ERPs) in terms of the skills that practitioners should demonstrate in order to continue to provide valuable insights and support organisations in navigating Industry 4.0. Nowadays, a new generation of ERPs is emerging as a response to the challenges companies face. To respond to the customers' requests, ERPs’ developers are creating new types of digital platforms where companies can leverage the benefits of Robot Process Automation and Intelligent Process Automation solutions. In this context, management accountants might face a series of challenges given the complexity of the automation-based solutions. By employing a cross-sectional approach focusing on the curricula’s evolution of two significant IMAPB, wielding an inductive approach to perform a content analysis, this study highlights the extent to which future certified management accounting practitioners can leverage the benefits of automation-driven ERPs. Although ERPs’ developers invest significantly in creating new solutions and engage in strategic partnerships to provide customers with intelligent networks for sustainable business models, the IMAPB analysed included in the curricula only a limited set of competencies that practitioners should demonstrate based on general representative statements. Nevertheless, along with the technical skills regarding automation-based solutions, one of the analysed IMAPB also addresses the importance of ethical aspects that are vital in a highly digitalised environment. This research deepened the understanding of the role that IMAPB plays in supporting the profession, with a series of academic implications as it addresses the gap in management accountants' digital set of skills.

ABSTRACT. The study examines the relationships between critical Entrepreneurial Variables with the use of Entropy related ratios and more specifically Mutual Information (M.I.) and Information Gain (I.G.). The study focuses on analysis of questionnaires answered by Start-Up founders, collected during 2023. Recent research highlights that Mutual Information provides a symmetrical measure of the relationship between two variables, which reveals non-linear relationships between them; in addition Information Gain provides an asymmetric measurement regarding the amount of information we gain from one variable by examining another. Both cases offer significant insights regarding the actual relationships between entrepreneurship variables and highlight areas of further research, by identifying which variables observed may offer additional information regarding other variables.

ABSTRACT. As in other areas where information systems have left their mark, justice has also become digitized, through the implementation of programs and projects aimed at ensuring technological solutions, often with the aim of improving the efficiency and accessibility of justice. In this paper, the authors set out to carry out an analysis of initiatives on digitization in justice - projects in the field of e-justice in the EU - and to develop a set of measures for the design and management of the system in a manner aimed at improving access to justice. The purpose of the research was to identify how the digitalization of justice can increase the efficiency of the legal system and can also facilitate access to judicial processes for litigants. In this sense, it was based on the hypothesis that access to justice could be improved through the implementation of concrete technological tools (electronic archive, electronic case management systems as management of a paperless system, the use of videoconferencing for taking witness statements at a distance), by conducting a research based on an analysis of secondary data regarding the advantages and disadvantages of the project as well as through a case study regarding the method of implementing the project in Romania. Analyzing the aspects regarding e-justice, the article makes not only a theoretical contribution, but also a practical one, as it represents a valid opinion that could be used in the development of the system. The results of the research revealed the fact that the electronic file, implemented relatively recently in Romania, brings a great benefit to justice by ensuring easier access for the parties regarding the study of the submitted documents, while also being able to reduce the volume of documents sent to the parties in the assumption of compliance with the legal provisions

ABSTRACT. Social entrepreneurship (SE) education is crucial now because it may mold students into adults who are more conscious of their impact on the world. If social entrepreneurship education is to succeed, its students must be highly motivated. Unfortunately, little is known about what inspires undergraduates in Asia to become social entrepreneurs. For this study, data on undergraduate students who are participating in the program were gathered from 16 different institutions. Three hundred people filled out questionnaires that were distributed online. Confirmatory component analysis (CFA) was used to assess the measurement model's construct validity. According to the results, there was a link between undergraduate students' sense of self-efficacy and their desire to learn more about social entrepreneurship via traditional educational channels. A person's motivation to participate in social entrepreneurship is not significantly correlated with their level of social support. This study improves our knowledge of the factors that drive social entrepreneurs by making important contributions to the domains of educational management and entrepreneurship. Findings from this study have a significant bearing on the formulation of governmental policies meant to foster social entrepreneurship and, by extension, boost local economies and enhance communities. Given the increasing importance of social entrepreneurship education in cultivating individuals who are socially responsible and environmentally conscious, this research sought to contribute to the limited knowledge on the motivational factors that drive individuals to engage in social entrepreneurship. The study contributes to the domains of educational management and entrepreneurship by providing insights into the motivational factors that drive individuals to pursue social entrepreneurship.

ABSTRACT. Being responsible not only for the financial transactions recording, financial data analysis and financial statements preparation, but also for providing essential information used at key points in the proper functioning of the company's activity, such as decision-making and compliance with legal and regulatory requirements, accountants represent important actors of the economic sphere. Nevertheless, the way accountants work and the nature of the profession itself have undergone numerous changes over time, while the concurrent, sustained, and continuous overall transition of the modern economy and society to digitalization representing an important determining factor.

In fact, under the strong influence of the digital evolution, similar to many other fields of activity, the whole accounting area benefits from new perspectives, also determining new outlooks on the accounting profession, especially in relation to the Artificial Intelligence (AI) adoption. Therefore, the current paper aims to firstly identify notable aspects regarding the nexus between digitalization and the accounting profession, mainly considering existing scientific directions and themes of interest related to the phenomenon in question, that have been highlighted over the last decades. Moreover, the article explores the intelligent future premises, focusing on how the accountant, as a distinct entity of the business world, can adapt to the changing market conditions towards streamlining and improving its activity while taking advantage of the AI technology, among others.

The obtained results reveal the increased interest on the addressed topic, but also the fact that the accounting profession could certainly benefit from an intelligent evolution, instead of replacement. Intended to bring undeniable advantages on the accounting activity results, the adaptation and continuous embrace of new technologies can undoubtedly lead to keeping the accounting profession relevant, while also providing added value in the digital age.

ABSTRACT. This paper explores the potential of social entrepreneurship education (SEE) as a means to foster sustainable businesses. SEE is defined as a pedagogical approach that aims to develop the knowledge, skills and attitudes of students to address social and environmental challenges, while creating economic value through entrepreneurial solutions. It combines traditional business education with an emphasis on social responsibility and impact. The paper reviews the literature on SEE and its impact on students' entrepreneurial intentions, behaviors and outcomes. Social entrepreneurship education typically covers a range of topics, including social innovation, social impact assessment, community development, ethical leadership, and business planning. It also presents a conceptual framework that links SEE to the dimensions of sustainable development: economic, social, and environmental. The paper argues that SEE can enhance students' awareness of sustainability issues, identify social problems, stimulate their motivation to create positive change, and equip them with the tools and methods to design and implement sustainable business models. Social entrepreneurship education also emphasizes the importance of collaboration, networking, and community building. The case-study presented in the article provides lessons learned from using Design Thinking in interdisciplinary teams of Romanian students and the sustainable business ideas they elaborated. The paper concludes with some implications for policy and practice, as well as suggestions for future research.

ABSTRACT. This research presents a systematic literature review that focuses on the recycling of household waste in the food sector within the social dimension of sustainability. The review summarizes several studies that explore the interrelationships of social aspects, assess the importance of the social dimension in CE fields and policy-making communities, and identify knowledge gaps in current research. Focusing on the food industry and home food waste is important as it is a significant contributor to global food waste, which has serious environmental, economic, and social impacts. It is estimated that globally, one-third of all food produced is wasted, and the food industry and households are major contributors to this waste. In addition, environmental effects and awareness in food recycling are being investigated i.e. social emphasis on issues such as the influence of animals. Food waste contributes to greenhouse gas emissions, which exacerbate climate change, and it wastes resources such as water, energy, and land that are used to produce food. Furthermore, food waste represents lost economic value, and it contributes to food insecurity and hunger, as it could have been used to feed people in need. By examining the causes and solutions to food waste in the food industry and households, it is possible to identify opportunities for reducing waste, improving sustainability, and promoting food security. In this content, articles scanned in WoS are included in the research. NLP is used to visualize the topic.

ABSTRACT. The applicability of the green banking concept is extensive, since it is considered to be the new standard in organizations, but mainly in the banking system. The reduction of paper consumption is discussed, as well as the implementation of digital banking strategies, in the direction of sustainability. Thus, each bank can design its own ideology of the green banking, as all initiatives undertaken can be adjusted to its individual objectives. However, a sustainable bank is known as an entity that has a portfolio of financial products and services, tailored for customers, but at the same time which is protecting the environment. In this regard, the present research paper aims to clearly define the concepts of banking sustainability and green banking. Also, another fundamental objective is to evaluate the situation of the last five years of the involvement of Romanian commercial banks in social responsibility activities related to nature in particular, and in sustainable activities in general. To highlight these aspects, the first five banks in Romania in terms of market share by assets were chosen. For this, the investments for sustainability were observed and analyzed, as well as medium and long-term objectives aimed for a green bank. The interview method was approached in order to find out as many details as possible about the way the banks are organized, about the financial plans and the opinion of the banks regarding the environmental protection. The research results confirm the objectives, while the banks’ innovation surprises. Indeed, the future of green bank is complicated, yet promising, as they must exceed the limits imposed by society.

ABSTRACT. The conflict in Ukraine is leading to a significant disruption of the education system, affecting thousands of students and teachers. Innovative approaches to education are essential in post-conflict Ukraine economy to overcome the challenges facing the education system. This paper explores the use of digital learning technologies in post-conflict Ukraine and their impact on education. The study examines how digital learning technologies can help overcome the lack of resources, including physical infrastructure, teaching materials, and qualified teachers, which are major challenges facing the education system in post-conflict Ukraine. The study also highlights how digital learning technologies can facilitate intercultural dialogue and understanding by providing opportunities for virtual exchanges and collaborations among students from different regions and backgrounds. Also, the paper discusses about how digital learning technologies can promote innovation and creativity by providing access to cutting-edge technologies, such as virtual reality and artificial intelligence, which can enhance students' learning experiences and foster their curiosity and critical thinking skills. Digital learning technologies have the potential to overcome some of the challenges facing the education system in post-conflict economy of Ukraine. By providing access to educational resources, facilitating intercultural dialogue, and promoting innovation and creativity, digital learning technologies can help rebuild the education system and promote reconciliation and social cohesion. This study is relevant not only to actual conflict in Ukraine but also to other conflicts those other countries can face with similar challenges in the aftermath of conflicts, where innovative approaches to education can help overcome the challenges and promote a better future. This work was supported by Hasso Plattner Foundation through the grant LBUS-UA-RO-2023, financed by the Knowledge Transfer Center of the Lucian Blaga University of Sibiu.

ABSTRACT. Over the last decades, gamification has become increasingly used, its benefits being also recognized by a large cluster of e-Commerce providers and consumers. By applying game mechanics and techniques to non-game contexts, gamification certainly has the potential to devise more compelling and enjoyable experiences for customers, motivating them to complete desired actions and behaviors.

The current research aims to highlight the advantages, challenges, and future trends of gamification integration in e-Commerce, starting by emphasizing the interest on the analyzed topic from the scientific research perspective and subsequently offering a better understanding on the phenomenon evolution. However, in order to solve the stated research objective, the process implied approaching three well-known and easy-to-understand analysis tools, namely the SWOT, VRIO and PESTLE instruments, applied from the company's perspective, relative to the general framework.

Finally, the paper examines the future trends of gamification in e-Commerce, mainly considering the tech evolution, but also the different generations characteristics. Emerging technologies such as AI, AR/VR, wearables, IoT, blockchain, and others were mentioned as instruments that can be used to create even more immersive and personalized gamification experiences for customers.

Overall, the present study demonstrates that gamification represents a long-term valuable strategy for e-Commerce platforms looking to increase customer engagement and loyalty. However, successful gamification requires careful planning, user testing, and ongoing optimization to ensure that it aligns with business goals and customer needs. The future of gamification in e-Commerce will be driven by emerging technologies that can create even more customer-shaped experiences, characterizing gamification as an essential stratagem for e-Commerce businesses aiming to stay ahead of the competition.

ABSTRACT. The common desire of civilizations to reach out and interact with each other naturally gave rise to the process of globalization. Globalization has proven to be a dynamic process, triggered by technological changes and the decline in barriers to the free flow of goods, services, capital, and people. However, after decades of increasing economic integration, globalization shows signs of slowing down. The last 15 years have seen rapid changes in the global economy, in the context of events that drew attention to the vulnerabilities of globalization. In the present paper, I have detailed the impact the most significant events of recent years have had on globalization, such as the rise of populism and nationalism, the withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union, the United States - China trade war, the COVID-19 pandemic and Russia`s invasion of Ukraine. Regarding the methodology used, I have elaborated quantitative research, by collecting information and data from national and international statistics, and from specialized literature. The hypothesis of the research is that despite the challenges felt at the global level, we cannot talk about a de-globalization, but about a weakening of globalization, a slowing down of the pace of global integration. As a result of the research, the hypothesis from which we started was verified. The conclusion is that globalization is not dying, but is constantly changing in response to the new reality. We've entered the era of fragmented globalization, characterized by the strengthening of regional economic areas, or the globalization of countries that share the same ideas and values.

ABSTRACT. In the modern industrial economy, sustainability management is increasingly integrated into corporate strategic planning as organisations recognise more and more the need to minimise their environmental impact and maximise resource conservation and reuse. However, it can be challenging to implement solutions to sustainability problems within organisations that are often resistant to change. As technologies evolve and regulations change, sustainability must (also) be evaluated from an external perspective to ensure firm’s long-term performance. To achieve this, managers need to conduct environmental scanning to gather information that allows them to analyse the firm's natural, societal, and task environment. The societal level analysis encompasses a wide range of variables, including politico-legal, economic, socio-cultural, and technological forces. In addition, the task environment is performed by considering an industry-level analysis. This allows managers to avoid strategic surprises by proactively identifying challenges and opportunities that sustainability presents for their organisation. Consequently, this paper aims to explore the role that sustainability plays in business strategy, focusing on the external challenges that organisations face in light of sustainability. By evaluating sustainability from an external perspective, managers can develop effective strategies to navigate the challenges and opportunities posed by sustainability. Therefore, the undertaken analysis considers both the macro-level societal forces and the micro-level task environment (through Porter’s five forces framework), and provides a comprehensive understanding of the impact of sustainability on business strategy. This will highlight the importance of developing effective strategies that balance sustainability with organisational performance and will help managers navigate the challenges and opportunities presented by sustainability while promoting sustainable business practices.

ABSTRACT. The COVID-19 pandemic has caused significant changes in consumer behavior and shopping habits, with many people turning to online shopping as a safer and more convenient option. As we begin to emerge from the pandemic, it's clear that e-commerce will continue to play a major role in the retail industry. In this article, we explore the challenges and opportunities faced by e-commerce businesses in the post-COVID-19 world. In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, the world has witnessed a dramatic shift in the landscape of commerce, with e-commerce emerging as a vital lifeline for businesses and consumers alike. This shift has allowed businesses to continue serving customers while adhering to social distancing guidelines and government regulations. The click and mortar model combines physical and online stores, providing customers with the convenience of online shopping while also allowing them to experience products in person. This transition has highlighted the importance of having a strong online presence and creating a seamless omnichannel experience. As the pandemic subsides, businesses will need to continue to invest in their online capabilities and find ways to integrate them with their physical stores to create a more cohesive and efficient customer experience. By examining the lessons learned from the pandemic and anticipating future trends, this article aims to provide valuable insights for businesses seeking to navigate the ever-changing landscape of e-commerce in a post-COVID-19 world. We discuss how businesses can adapt to the new normal, including the need for enhanced safety measures, increased investment in technology and logistics, and a focus on providing exceptional customer experiences. We also examine emerging trends in the e-commerce landscape and provide insights into how businesses can stay ahead of the curve. By embracing change and staying agile, e-commerce businesses can thrive in the post-COVID-19 era.