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The role of artificial intelligence in shaping Islamic finance services reflects a fusion of modern technology and Islamic principles, offering innovative opportunities to enhance financial services in ways that are compatible with Islamic law. This research paper aims to study the role of artificial intelligence in shaping Islamic finance services by addressing key theoretical literature related to artificial intelligence and Islamic finance and examining their relationship. Using a descriptive-analytical approach, the paper reviews current and future applications of artificial intelligence in financial services, as well as the major challenges in applying artificial intelligence in Islamic finance. The study concludes that artificial intelligence can enhance innovation in the Islamic finance sector by providing advanced and innovative solutions that better meet customer needs.

This paper analyzes the effects of different sources of renewable energy on economic growth utilizing a panel of 212 countries between 1965-2021. The focus lies on five renewable energy sources: solar, wind, hydraulic, biofuel, and geothermal. Findings reveal that geothermal and hydraulic energies impact positively economic growth, while solar, wind, and biofuel energies negatively impact it. Consequently, the study suggests that policymakers should prioritize the development and investment in hydraulic and geothermal energy, while reconsidering support for solar, wind, and biofuel sources. The efficiency and cost of each energy type may vary based on factors such as location, technology, and available resources.

This paper analyzes the effects of different sources of renewable energy on economic growth utilizing a panel of 210 countries and territories between 1965 and 2021. The focus lies on five renewable energy sources: solar, wind, hydraulic, biofuel, and geothermal. Findings reveal that geothermal and hydraulic energies impact positively economic growth, while solar, wind, and biofuel energies negatively impact it. Consequently, the study suggests that policymakers should prioritize the development and investment in hydraulic and geothermal energy, while reconsidering support for solar, wind, and biofuel sources. The efficiency and cost of each energy type may vary based on factors such as location, technology, and available resources.

The current paper aims to study the application of this theory in the current economic context in Romania, contributing to filling the gaps in the existing research on this subject. Thus, in the practical part of the paper, a non-linear regression model was created using the volume of greenhouse gases as the dependent variable (representing environmental degradation) and the GDP per capita as the independent variable (representing the economic development of the country). The results suggest a significant impact of economic development on environmental pollution in Romania between 1990 and 2022. The positive correlation between GDP per capita and greenhouse gas emissions, as indicated by the positive coefficient of DPIB (-1), underscores the importance of managing economic growth sustainably to mitigate environmental impacts. This finding aligns with Kuznets' environmental curve theory, which proposes that initially, rising per capita income can result in higher pollution and greenhouse gas emissions as developing nations prioritize economic advancement over environmental concerns. However, as economies progress and mature, there is an opportunity for the adoption of cleaner technologies, the implementation of environmental regulations, and investments in sustainability, potentially leading to a reduction in both greenhouse gas emissions and pollution.

Despite the importance of financial development-international trade nexus and its implication for growth, studies have yet to look at the impact of new financial development indicators developed by the International Monetary Fund on international trade performance in Nigeria. This is one of the few attempts made to examine the elasticity of trade to financial development, given the inconclusive findings that permeate the literature. Therefore, this paper investigates the effect of financial development on aggregate trade performance in Nigeria using annual data from 1980 to 2021. The empirical framework is based on the ARDL approach to cointegration and error correction model. The findings revealed that (i) The ARDL bound test revealed the existence of a long-run equilibrium association between the variables; (ii) We find that a unit improvement in financial development induces a 1.1%-1.2% increase in trade performance in the short-run short term and a 9.7% in the long-run; (iii) The results show that a 1% increase in the exchange rate (depreciation) leads to a 0.01% improvement in trade performance in the short-term. The findings have important policy implications. The paper concludes that financial development contributes to trade performance.

The rise of AI technology across different sectors has drastically influenced jobs and employment overall. This paper's goal is to identify and redefine the fundamental skills that are needed in the job market in relation to the massive application of artificial intelligence. The methodology used includes a case study and document analysis. The case study is centred on the Finnish universities that have implemented a project to connect academic training and professional requirements in the era of artificial intelligence. The results of this paper suggest a radical shift from the usual and well-known labour-oriented competencies to a far more complex cognitive and interdisciplinary array of skills like complex problem-solving, emotional intelligence, and flexibility. Most importantly, the case study that this paper brings forward underscores that the educational process and innovation must be sustained in the job market because technology can never be stagnant and is continuously redrawing the boundaries of the job's responsibilities. In a nutshell, the competencies required in the labour market will have to be recast with the integration and development of artificial intelligence systems. Such developments need proactive actions from stakeholders, especially educational institutions, through which a proper channel is established for the smooth coexistence of the workforce in the future headed by artificial intelligence.

In current competitive market, efficient supply chain management is essential to achieving sustainable business success. This paper explores the integration of lean principles into supply chain operations and its impact on enhancing the value creation stream. Lean principles, originally developed in the manufacturing sector, focus on waste reduction, continuous improvement, and value maximization from the customer perspective. By applying these principles to supply chain management, organizations can streamline processes, reduce costs, and improve overall efficiency. The study investigates key lean methodologies, such as Just-In-Time inventory, Total Quality Management and the 5S system, and examines their application in various stages of the supply chain, including procurement, production, and distribution. Through a combination of case studies and empirical data, the research highlights how lean initiatives lead to significant improvements in supply chain performance metrics, such as lead time, inventory levels, and defect rates. Findings demonstrate that lean supply chain practices foster a culture of continuous improvement and collaboration among supply chain partners, ultimately enhancing the responsiveness and agility of the supply chain. Furthermore, the paper discusses the challenges and best practices for implementing lean principles in supply chain management, providing a roadmap for organizations seeking to optimize their supply chain value creation. The application of lean principles in supply chain management not only drives operational excellence but also contributes to greater customer satisfaction and competitive advantage. This paper underscores the strategic importance of lean thinking in creating a robust and value-driven supply chain.

Abstract This study explores the following theoretical research question: How can business ethics help to reframe corporate sustainability strategies? This paper’s contribution to corporate sustainability (CS) theory is the interconnection of concepts and models from disparate fields of thought, addressing gaps of perception that can impair the development of CS strategies. This paper’s main result is a comprehensive and articulated framework that links the societal level of sustainability to the organizational dimension of CS and the individual dimension of managers’ moral orientation. The framework reinforces the perception that business ethics driven by a normative orientation could improve CS results when supported by an organizational culture that allows reversing ethical blindness.

Abstract Alain Touraine’s theory on social movements (SMs) characterizes them as having their own collective identity, a defined opponent, and a dispute between these two opponents. This paper considers that Touraine’s theory on SMs does not contemplate their main motto: Emancipation. It is believed that Boaventura de Sousa Santos’ ideas can contribute to identifying SMs with emancipatory potential. To make these concepts concrete, examples of SMs are presented in Brazil and worldwide and analyzed in light of the two cited theories.

This paper utilizes a Structural Vector Autoregressive model (SVAR) to explore the intricacies of monetary policy and inflation dynamics in the Eurozone. When examining conventional monetary policy, impulse reactions reveal a positive price response to positive interest rate innovations, contrary to theory, thus indicating a "price puzzle." However, the inclusion of commodity prices and exchange rates in the model appears to effectively mitigate this puzzle. Given the European Central Bank's (ECB) extensive use of unconventional monetary policy tools, investigating the impact of external shocks on the ECB's total assets is of particular significance. Parallel insights emerge when transitioning to a model where the external shock corresponds to the ECB's unconventional monetary policy.

The pandemic caused by the corona virus is the most serious crisis that humanity has ever witnessed in this century. For Romania, this crisis highlighted organizational problems, structural issues related to the government, problems of an aging and underperforming health system, but also a total blockage of social and environmental actions. All of this are reflected in the national economical situation. The paper aims to construct a post-pandemic perspective, where Romania needs to streamline its governmental functioning system, simplifying and digitalizing procedures for strengthening the risk-management sector and securing the foundations for further growth. The two perspectives analysed are: the social one - by highlighting poverty, healthcare, income inequalities and regional disparities and the environmental one by highlighting the priorities of reducing air and water pollution, protecting the forest fund and conserving the Danube Basin. These two prisms are analyzed through the filtering of national recovery plans, by examining government capacities, the resolutions adopted by state officials, the European 2030 Agenda and the global framework of Sustainable Development drawn by the United Nations.

Both social media marketing and the digital activity of Instagram influencers have transformed the virtual landscape of book promotion. In other words, the growth of the #bookstagram community has given the entire publishing industry the opportunity to interact with potential readers and, by extension, increase product visibility through the social media platform Instagram. With this in mind, the present study aims to deepen the importance of promotion techniques within bookstagram and, moreover, to portray the modern methods implemented as central pillars in 21st century marketing strategies. Therefore, the paper investigates the broad spectrum of online approaches accessible to book influencers in the field of social media marketing through qualitative research, with in-depth interviews as the research method. As promotion can be achieved through a number of valuable techniques, the research focuses on highlighting the bookstagram tour, but also other equally effective strategies in terms of expanding the target audience and maximizing interactions. Moreover, there is the approach of types of posts, the involvement of awards or even touching on divergent topics of the books. Thus, by examining the phenomenon present in social media – influencer marketing and their methods of attracting consumer attention, the paper helps to build on the literature and offers new insights for both publishers and influencers. In particular, the research contributes to the evolving information on influencer marketing and highlights the importance of incorporating social media into marketing strategies to keep the online landscape current and dynamic.

Migration at international level is a global phenomenon. In recent years the world experienced the highest number of people who migrated abroad. For example, in 2020 approximately 3.6% of global population were international migrants. This was the highest proportion of the global population registered in the last thirty years. The paper analyses some general aspects of international migration. There are detailed migration patterns in various regions such as America, Europe, the Asia-Pacific region, and Africa. Based on the data provided can be drawn some policy implications. Countries of destination should apply policies in order to facilitate the integration of migrants and should provide labour market regulations.

In this paper we study the impact of Covid-19 pandemics on the incoming tourism in Romania. Following the typology of crises in general and the specific nature of the Covid crisis, we will see what effects this most recent pandemic had globally and what economic policies were taken to counteract the adverse effects of the pandemic. We will see that the lockdown and mobility restrictions at European level have led to a free fall of the incoming tourism, increasing the share of domestic tourism on the one side, while on the other hand we observe the tendency of people to move to the countryside. There have been observed some trends that favoured nature tourism, but we also witnessed, that OECD recommends continuing with a more sustainable tourism. We witnessed in 2022 a recovery of tourism in the European Union, which seems to invalidate the trends reiterated by OECD. Through a statistical regression we try to forecast the trend of incoming tourism in Romania, which gives us two possible directions of its evolution. Analysing the pessimistic case, we also identify systemic risks at the level of Romanian incoming tourism, that is focusing on a few countries only, so we see diversification as a very urgent matter for Romanian tourism.

Promotion has been and it is considered by famous authors as the key to any successful business in tourism. This fact reveals the need for this activity in any tourism business, at any level. The literature associates the promotion activity with the marketing activity but the practice has shown that the promotion can take place in the absence of a marketing plan or a promotion strategy. Moreover, promotion in tourism is closely linked to human activities without being able to specify an exact moment in history when these activities began to take place. Thus, this paper aims to make a journey through history to mark the moment of the promotion as an individual activity, which is interfering with the marketing activity. At the same time, by reviewing the specialized literature, this article wants to make the transition to the new communication paradigm, identifying the guidelines and its implications at the level of the tourism enterprise. The article presents the results of a theoretical, qualitative research, creating the theoretical framework for the development of tourism promotion, from antiquity to the present based on the review of the literature. The conclusions of this research highlight the contrast between the first manifestations of the promotional activity, the characteristic elements of the old paradigm and the new communication paradigm.

The first part of the article presents a short theoretical approach of unemployment, and the more consistent part is based on the statistical analysis of unemployment at the level of Bihor County. The analyzed period is represented by the years 2019-2021. For the current analysis, we have chosen the problem of unemployment during the pandemic, from a theoretical but also concretely applied perspective, since unemployment represents a complex psychosocial and economic phenomenon, and its dimensions and dynamics highlight the state of a society, but also the concerns for the implementation of active policies, which aim at increasing the employment rate, but also the quality of life. This paper analyzes the dynamics of unemployment in the period 2019-2021, but also the job protection measures implemented by the public employment system. Thus, the objectives of the research consist in the analysis of the unemployment indicators in Bihor County in the pre-pandemic period and in the pandemic period and of the special measures adopted in order to solve the problems generated by the health crisis. The used research method was the analysis of documents; we have analyzed the Activity Reports of Bihor County Agency for Employment (AJOFM Bihor) for the years 2020 and 2021 and the legal regulations adopted in order to protect employees and employers during this period. The analysis of statistical data revealed that the maximum number of unemployed people in the records of Bihor County Agency for Employment (AJOFM Bihor) was recorded in March 2021 (6,280 people), and the unemployment rate on this date was 2.36%. Two measures adopted by the government and implemented by the National Employment Agency through the County Employment Agencies had a major impact in maintaining jobs during the pandemic: technical unemployment and reduced working hours. Thus, in 2021 compared to 2020, the

This paper intends to analyze how the crisis produced by the Covid-19 infection has influenced the employees, respectively the employers. Thus, we try to see if they still approach the workplace, working hours, etc. in the same way or if their perception has been decisively influenced by this crisis. Certainly, there is an impact on the business environment around the world, respectively in Romania. Thus, employers and employees, like the whole world, had to adapt and reorganize in the given conditions. Some views support the theory that, for employers and employees respectively, nothing will be the same, and the approach and expectations of both parties will be different. Other views argue that this crisis will not cause major changes in perception on the subject. Be that as it may, through this paper we try to analyze in what way and above all, what changes this crisis has produced on the employees, respectively the employers. For the most part, for the employee, the workplace is the place from where he procures an important part or even all of his financial resources. Besides, the workplace is also the place where he can prove his skills acquired in school, the place where he socialises, the place where he develops professionally and not only that. The employer, in general, wants a competent and efficient employee. Both regarding employees and employers, the crisis caused by the Covid-19 infection has produced important changes that we will study in the analysis below. The business environment around the world has seen changes with the situation caused by this crisis that has faced all of humanity. Also, before analyzing, in broad terms, the impact on the business environment, we must observe how people saw the involvement, from a diplomatic point of view, in Romania’s economic development. Economic development must also be supported at the diplomatic level, not only through the other available levers.

Inflationary pressures, but also the uncertainty regarding the duration and severity of the Covid-19 pandemic, have significantly increased in the last year. Moreover, the start of Russia’s war against Ukraine on February 24, 2022, further called into question the upward trend in the inflation rate. In this sense, the sudden and continuous increase in energy, fuel, and food prices constitute new challenges for decision-makers. The purpose of this paper is to analyze the evolution of inflation in Romania from the period 1990-2022 because this constitutes a topical macroeconomic challenge. Compared to the way of presenting the information from the bibliography used and found at the end of the paper, in this paper only the essential aspects, the particularities of the chosen research topic, which finally provide an overview, can be found.

The importance of the role played by SMEs in the global economy and their contribution to job creation, added value, innovation and growth is widely acknowledged, therefore it is extremely necessary to support their development. In order to be competitive, SMEs also rely on external financing, not only through financial institutions but also through direct participation in the capital market. Managers place great emphasis on financing their businesses, and most of the European companies relying primarily on bank loans as their most important source of founding, unlike in the United States of America, where the activity of stock exchanges is much more developed. This paper aims to study a shared analysis of the advantages and disadvantages of SMEs in Romania regarding financing through financial institutions vs direct participation in the capital market.

The purpose of the paper is to observe and analyze how the dynamics of macroeconomic factors impact the evolution of the Bucharest Stock Exchange (BVB) during the latest crisis (Covid-19 pandemic and the Ukrainian war), through the lens of various market stock indices (BET, BetPlus, BET-FI and BET-NG). After the monthly values of both the macroeconomic factors (inflation rate, unemployment rate, RON-EURO exchange rates, industrial production index, average salary, money supply, interest rate and oil price) and Bucharest Stock Exchange indices were collected, during the period January 2020- June 2023, the descriptive statistics was used to describe all the observed data (mean value, standard deviation, minimum/ maximum value). Finally, the multiple regression was used to see exactly how the Romanian stock market indices are influenced by any changes of macroeconomic factors.

Over the latest decades, technology has been the driving force for most of the transformations that characterize the professional work today. Artificial Intelligence, robots, automation, complex systems and machines, and many other technological inventions do not represent a futuristic vision anymore, but they rather define our current reality, altering the fundamental nature of business and work. Besides their incontestable benefits, inquiries about the powerful impact of these technologies have surfaced, leading to a debate on "existential threat" they pose, since the nature of this technological progress is unpredictable. Therefore, there is a need to undertake proactive measures (such as a regulatory framework) in order to identify and mitigate the risks. In this context, the aim of this paper is to address some ethical issues with regard to the impact the accelerated technological developments have on humankind, mainly on the workforce, and the way the future of work is reconfigured by these transformations. In addition, the paper addresses some implications for the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), highlighting that it is crucial for companies to address the challenges posed by the new technologies in an ethical manner in order to contribute to a more sustainable and equitable future.

The transformations in the world economy, the globalization of information, the globalization of security issues have brought non-state powers to the position of main actors of the contemporary geopolitical phenomenon, in which transnational, international or supranational organizations play a special role. The unprecedented period of peace and stability that Europe went through at the end of the 20th century and the beginning of the 21st century is due to the existence of the European Union. The European Union is a relevant actor in the international arena; the emergence of the European Union radically changed the European and global geopolitical balance. Having an extensive network of economic relations worldwide, carrying out crisis management missions and humanitarian actions, the European Union cannot be omitted from any geopolitical analysis. In a very dynamic and unpredictable global geopolitical and geoeconomic context, the European Union launched on June 20, 2023 the European Strategy for Economic Security, a strategy that emphasizes bilateral and plurilateral cooperation - in different formats and degrees of institutionalization, from the G-7 to high-level economic talks, investment partnerships and commodity clubs. The European Union wants to reduce, for the next decades, the economic risks related to dependence on China. The strategy outlines how the European Union - a key trading partner for both China and the United States - is trying to manage its economic dependence on Beijing and avoid the kind of economic rupture with Russia that followed the invasion of Ukraine. The paper aims to analyze what China's "risk reduction" means for Europe and, at the same time, to understand how the European Union's approach to economic security will shape future relations in terms of geopolitics and geoeconomics at the international and regional level.

This paper delves into the integration of artificial intelligence within Estonia’s education system, showcasing the country’s global reputation for digital innovation. Utilising the method of the case study and the method of document analysis, we explore not only the practical outcomes, challenges, and strategies related to the adoption of artificial intelligence in the Estonian education system but also its economic implications. The research highlights artificial intelligence’s potential to lead to cost efficiencies and economic benefits for the education sector. Furthermore, we address the critical issue of fostering artificial intelligence literacy among students, schools, and universities, pinpointing data privacy and ethical considerations as key areas of concern. The strategies implemented by educational institutions to mitigate these challenges and promote a comprehensive understanding of artificial intelligence are also discussed. In conclusion, the paper underscores artificial intelligence’s transformative potential in reshaping education, offering guidance for other nations and academic entities aiming to successfully integrate artificial intelligence-based technologies. Emphasis is placed on the importance of a supportive policy framework and a solid ethical foundation to navigate the complexities of artificial intelligence adoption and ensure responsible use, while also considering the economic impact on the educational ecosystem and the labour market at large.

Abstract Project management increasingly focuses on delivering benefits, considering institutional complexity and global challenges. Inland waterway transport (IWT) projects appear in the Brazilian Nationally Determined Contribution following the Paris Agreement. However, Brazilian IWT projects remain underdeveloped, and waterway freight transport capacity is underutilized. There is a literature gap on the links between budget performance, policy, politics, and project management. In particular, we know little about the effects of the interactions between governance mechanisms and public budget execution on the procurement of waterway transport infrastructure projects in Brazil. This paper aims to assess Brazilian waterway infrastructure budgetary execution and governance arrangements to determine the influence of these factors on policy failures. We performed a qualitative analysis of policy plans and investments made between 2014 and 2020 through interviews and documental research to examine 109 waterway infrastructure projects. All respondents pointed out the lack of planning as an obstacle to waterway projects, and 74% reported budget shortness. Nevertheless, we found USD 43.2 million available in budgets that were never utilized. The inability to invest is a bigger obstacle for Brazilian waterway projects than budget insufficiency. We recommend an adaptive management approach to allocate investments, in which stakeholders learn together to implement more effective project strategies.

In this paper, several financial indicators at S.C.D.A. Simnic are investigated from a statistical point of view. Using the method of least squares, the mathematical functions that model the trend are found and with the help of which financial forecasts are made, also using the growth rates with a chain basis and a fixed basis for the time series corresponding to the period 20082022. Finally, an analysis is made of the correlations between these indicators, such as income, expenses, profit, assets, liabilities, stocks, receivables, capital and the results found are interpreted. Thus, the forecasts on the financial indicators and the correlations between them can be of great help in the management of a company, being able to contribute to the efficiency of the activity through adequate budget planning, performance evaluation, investment decision-making or human resources planning. They can help managers identify opportunities and risks, optimize the use of resources, and achieve better financial results for the firm. financial indicators, forecasts, time series, correlations

The success of the companies is credited to their capacity to generate change, developing or implementing new systems while it is admitted that success in the production area is based on monitoring the latest technologies and their transformation into viable products, on understanding current and future customer’s needs which can be satisfied with new or improved processes and products, taking into consideration the alignment with the uniqueness of the specifications or permanent adaptation to the market conditions. Companies need a long-term vision with the purpose of covering the demand through technology and generating new needs through research and development. This paper focus is on the technology-innovation-performance triadic model which is both a novel approach and a new integrative analysis. Trying to bridge the literature gap, the article proposes a discussion exploring the possible interlinks between the three elements of the triad. The results of this endeavor are twofold encouraging: (i) by underlying the investigation the potential of the triadic model technology-innovation-performance; and (ii) by implications for business managers, in general, and (in this particular case), for managers while making strategic decisions, considering the organization level. Mattel is a leading toy manufacturer which operates on a global level but also an entertainment corporation which aims to expand the content, the consumer products and to offer unique digital experiences. The company has been founded in more than 70 years ago in the United States and is operating in 35 countries through its own stores while offering their products to the public from more than 150 countries through accredited partners or resellers. The iconic Barbie doll and the famous Hot Wheels represent two of their most valuable brands, the products under this label being a subject to constant innovations during the time and succeeding to be considered the best-selling toys of the year for two consecutive years in a row, 2020 and 2021 while also being named the top global toy property. The currents study has the purpose to analyze the connection between innovation, technology and performance by highlighting the main elements that have conducted Mattel to the astonishing success which was achieved in the last years.

In this paper, the scientific articles from the Web of Science base were analyzed, which address the investment classification criteria by means of the bibliometric analysis. Querying the Web of Science database and applying filters revealed a sample of 273 articles. The distribution by years, by countries, by authors, by categories, by fields of research, by sustainable development goals of this sample was followed. Also, within the work, a qualitative analysis was carried out, following the words and phrases with the highest density in the studied articles. The investigation method was based on the PRISMA Statements methodology. To determine the correlations regarding the countries of origin of the authors, the Co-authorship filter was used with a minimum number of 10 documents/country and a minimum number of 11 citations/country, so out of 73 countries only 14 met the conditions for analysis. For the word density analysis, the co-occurrence filter was applied, with a minimum occurrence of 5, resulting in 37 words grouped into 5 clusters. To support the conclusions, the following classifications were analyzed: WOS Categories, Research Areas, Sustainable Development Goals, Citation Topics Micro. The results of the research constitute the starting point for future analyzes in the field of investments.

This study examines the predictors of the propensity to pay cash dividend including industry structure, natural log of revenue, firm size, big 4 auditors, and financial leverage. The paper draws upon the theory of uncertain binary choice. Pooled unbalanced panel logistic regression and artificial neural network were used to analyze data of 725 firm-year observations obtained from companies’ annual accounts and financial statements from 2012 to 2021. The documented results find that industry structure, natural log of revenue (big 4 auditors, firms’ size and financial leverage) significantly influence the propensity to pay (not to pay) cash dividend. The result on the interaction term shows that industry structure and log revenue has the propensity to significantly predict non-payment of cash dividend. Nagelkerke pseudo R2 indicates that the predictors explain about 36% of variability in payment of cash dividend. The ROC-curves indicate good model fits as areas under the curve are up to .85. We recommend that the management of listed companies and equity stockholders who are interested in dividend payment should consider the history of industry structure and companies’ revenue while those not interested in dividend payment should consider company size, the presence of big 4 auditors and financial leverage. Keywords: Cash dividends, Industry structure, Independent

Business ethics reflect the norms and developments of each historical period. On the other hand, everyone needs ethics to build a social infrastructure that is vital for progress. At the organizational level managers generally act on the basis of their beliefs, values and strategies financially motivated, and workers interact in various contexts, marked by ethical controversies. Today, a multitude of factors underlie the ethical dilemmas that affect business and individual decisions, in any profession, organization, at the level of each individual's daily activities. These decisions are not only business critical, but also very important in terms of creating or sustaining the right balance within the firm and between the firm and the society in which it operates. This is why the role of ethics is very important these days, with a significant impact in the direction of gaining business reputation and gaining the competitive edge needed to make business as profitable as possible. Ethical management must be based on principles and guidelines that help managers make informed and correct choices, so that they can balance the economic interests with the social responsibilities of the companies they lead. The paper can guide managers who want to understand their own ethical behavior and of others in the organization, it provides guidance to act in an ethical direction.

Abstract This special issue, generously accepted and published by Cadernos EBAPE.BR, emerges from the daily life-preserving struggles in Brazil and other parts of the Global South against the radical invisibility of colonial and racial oppressions at a time of the double pandemic of COVID-19 and white supremacy. This collection of articles that we have the pleasure to share with you embodies our decolonizing and deracializing response to normalization of necropolitics, of deciding who may live and who must die. This normalization can be seen in the false idea of impunity of law enforcement officials, such as the Minneapolis police officer who killed George Floyd in the USA. It is important to highlight that George Floyd’s death would have been yet another mere statistic if not for the courage and determination of the 17-year-old Black teenager who filmed it with her cell phone. Inspired by the attitude of this Black girl, we brought together eight provocative and insightful articles which will help us to reflect on the struggles faced by marginalized communities and the impact of the domain of Eurocentric perspective on the understanding of management practices and organizations’ dynamics. These papers cover topics such as the role of accounting in the slave-owning system, contemporary forms of slavery in Brazil, and the intersectional experiences of Black women in labor exploitation. Our goal is to challenge existing narratives and shed light on hidden histories to contribute to the decolonization and deracialization within and outside the field of Management and Organizational Studies.

Abstract A few research papers on modern slavery have outlined how this phenomenon flourishes and persists despite institutional pressures against inhumane practices. In order to analyze slavery from an institutional perspective and answer the question of the main factors in the institutional field that sustain modern slavery, qualitative data were collected in the Brazilian context, where the country is widely recognized for its significant actions against modern slavery practices. This study draws on primary and secondary data collected through in-depth interviews and participant observation at conferences, as well as content analysis of documents using NVivo software. The study suggests that certain contextual conditions legitimize organizational practices of formal and informal firms, called institutional deflection. As a contribution to modern slavery management patterns, this article presents the “modern slavery wheel” based on the results of a dynamic cycle that incorporates and systematizes the elements that support the phenomenon. Wheel mechanisms such as favorite conditioning, recurrence, enticement, and truck system seem to contribute to modern slavery practices and their maintenance over time. Moreover, we suggest that these same components may also contribute to breaking the modern slavery wheel

The accelerated process of innovation and diffusion of digital technologies over the last decades has greatly impacted all areas of society, becoming one of the most significant socio-economic phenomena of the contemporary world, transforming the way things are done, businesses are developed, or diplomatic goals are achieved. Economic diplomacy has been transformed in numerous ways, with new tools, actors and processes being involved, and with an ongoing increase of awareness in its opportunities as well as potential risks. The purpose of this paper is to highlight the impact digitalization has on economic diplomacy under the pressure of digitalization and the related “products” of the digital world (such as Big Data), and to identify, in perspective, the mega-trends and opportunities that shape economic diplomacy in the digital age.

In an unstable global business environment, reconfiguring global supply chains is a necessary step. Supply chain reconfiguration gives the supply chain the ability to adapt quickly; new supply chain structures allow for increased responsiveness and flexibility to deal with disruptions. The main objective of this paper is to identify the research interest in the area regarding the supply chain reconfiguration. The study is based on a quantitative research method, namely bibliometric analysis. By querying the existing database on the Scopus platform, scientific papers (research articles, books, papers presented at conferences) containing the keywords in the title, abstract, or in the keywords of the documents have been identified. The research results confirm the increasing academic interest in supply chain reconfiguration.

Motivation is an essential component in the enhancement of organizational performance. Motivation theories have emerged over time toward providing insight into the importance of motivation in achieving organizational success. The paper embarks on a comparative study of Abraham Maslow’s hierarchy of needs and Herzberg's two-factor motivation theories to ascertain any relationship and implications for organizational performance. The study relied on qualitative data collected from scholarly articles whereby they were analyzed using the case study approach and expounded thematically. The study bares a correlation between Maslow’s hierarchy of needs and Herzberg’s two-factor motivation theories, in which they provided overlapping models on the structure of needs that represents both intrinsic and extrinsic motivation. The implication of the theories has shown that individual needs differ and that the blend of both the intrinsic and extrinsic motivation factors, as shown by both theories, cannot be isolated, as the regular application of both factors would produce robust employees energized for higher performance. It is concluded that the success of any organization is pivot not only on the capacity of a manager to organize and coordinate material resources, but also to recognize the divergence of the needs of individuals and develop approaches to satisfy them.

The COVID-19 pandemic had a significant impact on the ICT employment landscape throughout Europe, confirming the importance of digitalization not only for long-term productivity and growth, but also for the economy's resilience against shocks. The current paper analyses the relationship between the individuals’ levels of computer skills and the employment in the ICT sector among the EU Member States in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. The levels of computer skills among individuals in the EU were analysed in the context of the need to adapt to remote work, access information and services, and participate in the digital economy. The research methodology involves correlation and regression analyses to assess the relationship between individuals' computer skills and ICT employment among the EU Member States. The results confirm a strong positive correlation between computer skills and employed ICT specialists, while emphasizing the need for comprehensive approaches to improve the EU population’s computer skills through long-term commitment and collaboration among various stakeholders. The research concludes that increased computer skills can lead to job creation and contribute to the digital transformation and economic development of the European ICT sector.

Financial markets play an essential role in developing modern society and enabling the deployment of economic resources. This study focuses on predicting stock prices using deep learning models. In particular, the daily closing prices of two different stocks from the Casablanca Stock Market Viz Bank of Africa and Itissalat Al-Maghrib (IAM) are considered. The datasets were pre-processed and passed through the Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM), Multi-Layer Perceptron (MLP), and Convolutional Neural Networks (CNN) models. The models’ performances were compared based on the performance evaluation metrics, viz: mean squared error (MSE) and root mean squared error (RMSE) and Mean Absolute Error (MAE). The paper proposes a novel hybrid model. The hybrid design of the model improves its predictive power as the results of the Hybrid network performance surpassed all the other models.

The term internationalization has been mainly used to show the expansion of economic activities of firms outside of their home country where they aim at capturing a bigger market. The Central and Eastern Europe region has gone through a process of market transition over the past few decades, yet the business internationalization process has played an important role in the states’ economies. The aim of this paper is to analyze the firm internationalization process in the new member states and the Western Balkans countries and gain a better understanding of the process and its course over time. Due to different geopolitical circumstances, the Western Balkan countries did not attract as many investors as much as the EU member states in CEE did that have had a constant flow of investments once they were members of the EU.

This paper analyzes the lines of research derived from the implementation and development of the organizational culture of innovation in order to identify the trends followed within this field of study. In doing so, we identified potential and recent-interest trends that could contribute both to the development of this scientific field and to the search of companies for competitive advantages. The most productive authors, journals and countries were also identified, thus offering a solid basis for future research. The methodology consisted of the analysis of bibliometric indicators from scientific articles in Scopus database published between 1980 and 2000. The Web of Science was not considered since the results obtained in both databases were similar. Among the relevant findings related to administration, in publishing terms, the United States is the most productive country, followed by the United Kingdom and Australia. The analysis of topological data between keywords and science areas shows that the analyzed sample focuses on inter- and multidisciplinary studies, and that most theories and basic frameworks were created between 1980 and 2000. These findings provide a basic framework for qualitative and quantitative research that could be applied by experts in the field of management.

he goal of this paper is to better comprehend the importance of ethical behavior related to gender and religion in the Romanian accounting profession. In this regard we started by reviewing the scientific papers approaching the ethics topic of research. Then we conducted an empirical study that analyses students’ behavior when dealing with ethics in accounting field, having as main objective the assessment of the students’ perceptions regarding the importance of the ethical behavior, as potential or current employees in the field of accounting. The empirical research was carried out between May 2022 and June 2022, and the research method used was the survey, the instrument used being the questionnaire. This has been fulfilled by 100 master students in the accounting field from the Faculties of Economics, within the University of Oradea as well as the University of Arad. This paper is going to validate the different importance given to ethical behavior, by accounting professionals in Romania depending on gender. The research questions that this study aims to answer are: Does the accountants’ gender influence the ethical behavior of the accounting profession? And Does the accountants’ religious background influence their sense of ethics? Results obtained document a different level of given significance to ethical behavior depending on gender, but not on religious background. A significant part of those surveyed considers that under pressure or salary motivation from the management of the entity, they could decide to change an accounting policy that could affect the true image of the company.

Our multidisciplinary review paper aims to explore the research paradigms of unethical behavior from different academic perspectives. By doing this, our paper contributes to a better understanding of unethical behavior by drawing knowledge from alternative understandings of such behavior. More specifically, our multidisciplinary inquiry aims to summarize the main findings documented by scholars from different disciplines that conducted independent research on the topic using unique perspectives and ideas associated with the field. As such, in order to gain a better understanding of how unethical behavior is examined through a range of different disciplines and areas of research we assessed the highly cited papers found at the intersection of various categories and research areas such as management, business economics, and psychology, ethics, engineering, and environmental sciences and ecology, public environmental occupational health. Having the goal to offer the most representative research on the topic, we based our review on the highly cited papers examining unethical behavior from the Clarivate Analytics’ Web of Science (WoS), the world`s leading scientific citation search and analytical information platform. The results show that the highly cited papers analyzed cluster around two major research themes as antecedents and factors increasing/enabling unethical behavior (e.g. propensity of moral disengagement, psychological entitlement, self-serving justifications, job insecurity, air pollution, polluted social contexts, creativity, favorable attitudes of upper-class toward greed, etc.) and factors deterring or limiting it (e.g. religion, ethical leadership). Given our multidisciplinary review, our study helps provide alternative understandings and important insights on the research of unethical behavior to serve for novel investigations in both practice and theory.

n the economic life of companies, various financial difficulties can appear, regardless of their object of activity, domain, geographical area, or geopolitical context. The economic reality proved that managing individual difficulties one at a time has little chance of succeeding; because of this, there are international concerns in establishing the regulatory framework and identifying instruments to ensure that the firm can overcome the financial difficulty. Concerns in this sense have been explicitly mentioned for the first time by the World Bank when Principles for effective insolvency and creditor/debtor regime were established in 2001. Recently, the European Parliament has elaborated the EU Directive 2019/1023 regarding the framework of preventive restructuring, debt remittance, and forfeiture of law, besides measures to increase the efficiency of restructuring procedures, insolvency, and debt remittance, which modifies the EU Directive 2017/1132 regarding restructuring and insolvency. While implementing the EU Directive of restructuring in national legislation, the paper analyses and synthesizes the measures of reorganizing and recovering companies while also considering the required legislative instruments. From a practical aspect, the authors’ contribution concretizes in a set of economic and financial indicators that warn/reveal the state of financial difficulty of companies. Establishing these indicators represents technical aspects that need to be clarified by the national law and the EU Directive, and it constitutes the challenge of readjusting the companies. The faster the intervention, the bigger the chances of salvaging the company. Interest in this topic is growing, given the temporary suspension of the activities of many companies caused by several factors. In the context of the measures taken to prevent the COVID-19 pandemic and increase the costs of raw materials, gas, and energy, the economic evolution is unpredictable and challenging. Considering that we are in the process of modifying the national legislation, the proposed set of indicators cannot be verified on the level of companies that encounter financial difficulties. Therefore, applying and practically verifying these economic and financial indicators will be the subject of subsequent research.

This paper seeks to analyze the impact of disclosures on managers’ characteristics, business climate information, and key accounting policy variables on financial performance. Data were extracted from the annual reports of the non-financial listed companies on the Bucharest Stock Exchange. Fifty-seven companies from eight industries have been investigated over five years. The least-squares method for panel data (Panel Least Squares) was used in estimating eight models that proved to be valid for the Fisher test. The findings showed that a high level of disclosure of information about managers increases performance. In contrast, the increased disclosure of business climate information and the average degree of internal control is leading to lower company performance. From the analysis of key accounting policy variables, the estimated models showed that the overall level of provisions has a significant positive influence on the performance of the companies. In two models also the estimates of decommissioning costs of tangible assets have a significant positive impact on performance. A significant negative impact on performance is exerted by uncertainties in recognition, accounting valuation, or presentation of assets, judgments, and assumptions on contingencies, litigation risks, and R&D innovation costs. The existence of the audit report and the type of auditor do not significantly influence the performance of the examined companies. However, the existence of the corporate governance report is significantly and positively impacting financial performance.

Trade is at the centre of Europe’s model of economic prosperity and competitiveness. As stated in the new Trade Policy Strategy set out by the European Commission (2021), the trade policy has a key role to play in the recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. Meanwhile, this role was emphasised even better by the effects derived from the war in Ukraine. As the pandemic hit in 2020, the growth drivers of the EU’s economy relented, among which the external trade, putting million jobs at risk and leading to rise in unemployment and to depression of economic activity, while many companies had to close down. Competitiveness is a term which increased in significance in the last few decades. Trade competitiveness and, especially, export competitiveness is one of the most valuable variables a country must improve in order to increase its overall competitive position among nations and also the welfare of its citizens. The export statistics of many EU’s economies changed since the COVID-19 crisis and later, the war stroke. The research questions this paper addresses are: what is the extent of these changes in which sectors? Have they come to an end or the process of recovery has already started within the EU? What effects has the war in Ukraine onto the EU exports competitiveness? Are there any chances for the EU to maintain its exports competitiveness after these crises? What is to be one and what measures to be taken to recover? After introductory theoretical remarks and a brief literature review followed by a survey of various techniques to measure export competitiveness, the paper shifts its focus on statistical data and analyse how much damage has the pandemic and nowadays, the war caused to the EU’s export competitiveness, and which EU Member States were the most affected, based on statistical data analysis and other various indicators.

People have been moving from one area to another since ancient times in order to exchange products from one nation with those from another in order to obtain what was lacking in the nation where they resided. These were the first product-to-product trades, and the latter was placed into circulation on money as a product-to-product trade. These early types of commerce have evolved significantly, and they continue to do so now as capital flows from one country to another. This phenomenon, which has influenced worldwide economic growth and improved living standards, saw significant expansion in the twenty-first century in the form of loans used to fund economic development in many nations, as well as ownership of financial assets. In the present era, domestic capital is insufficient for countries to thrive and remain competitive in global markets. For emerging economies, foreign investments that enter the host country as debt or money are crucial financial resources. In this paper, we will discuss the data on the development of exports and FDI of 22 countries from around the world and analysed the evolution of FDI, GDP and exports over a period of 40 years to see trends and patterns of FDI and Exports and their contribution to the economic growth of countries. Broken up in groups, the paper will compare and assess certain countries/regions, grouping and pairing them with economies or countries of similar growth/stance. Corroborating this statistics with recent global events and based on the previous statistics, this paper will try to predict the future trends of FDI around the world.

The interlinkages between country risk and foreign direct investments are the subject of research interest. The article tests the intuitive hypothesis that economic freedom is associated with low country risk and is an incentive for foreign direct investments. The research paper employs empirical quantitative within-between models to analyze the relationship between foreign direct investments and five indices: trade openness, freedom from corruption, trade freedom, investment freedom, and economic freedom. The database used is The Global Economy for 44 European Countries resulting a panel data employed for between within models, growth curve models, contextual models, generalized estimating equations models (GEE), and asymmetric effects models. Interesting is the different significance of the five indicators in different models. For the first three models within -between model, the growth curve model and the contextual model- statistical significance have trade openness, freedom from corruption, and investment freedom. For the Generalized equations model (GEE) the only indicator that has statistical significance is Investment freedom. For the asymmetric effects model that shows the effect of asymmetric increase and decrease of each indicator, there is no statistical significance for the analyzed indicators. The within – between models combine the robustness of the fix effects models with the flexibility of the random-effects models.

Language is made up of five basic components: morphology, phonology, syntax, semantics and pragmatics. Morphology in linguistics represents the study of the words, how they are formed and their relationship with other words in the same language; phonology involves the rules regarding the structure of the speech sounds and their sequence; syntax is the study of morphemes and how they form larger units; pragmatics involves the rules for appropriate and effective communication; semantics deals with vocabulary and the way concepts are expressed through words. Thus, vocabulary is one of the constituent elements of the language. Words carry meaning and have their own energy representing the building blocks of communication. According to the context they are used in, their meaning differs, therefore, vocabulary acquisition is crucial when talking about English for Specific Purposes, in our situation, Business English. But how is vocabulary acquisition in second language done? Vocabulary building often occurs through reading, however, it is unlikely for the students in foreign language to acquire the basic specific vocabulary through reading. The present paper deals with the strategies a Business English teacher approaches in order to assist students to learn vocabulary as well as to equip them with methods to turn perceptive vocabulary into context vocabulary. How can vocabulary be taught efficiently? How can teacher provide learners the needed input in order to shift vocabulary from input to output? How can teachers introduce vocabulary in order for optimal retention to be ensured? These are some the questions the present paper addresses.

n recent decades, technological development has experienced significant acceleration, and smart devices are now widely available. Romanian e-commerce market, although ahead of countries like Greece, Portugal, Italy or Bulgaria, has still a long way to go before reaching its full potential. The purpose of this paper is to analyse the online shopping behaviour of Romanians. For this, we analyzed statistic data on internet access and online purchases and discussed the findings of an online purchase behaviour survey of 580 Romanian respondents. The main findings of the survey suggest that, while 64 percent of respondents prefer online shopping to the classic non-virtual shopping, the top three risks that worry potential online Romanian buyers are: fake online reviews, uncertain quality of goods, and unreliable match. 5G technologies, ultra-fast smart devices, lack of borders in online commerce are already present, so the future belongs to those who will know how to adapt and anticipate the needs of online shoppers.

Bibliometric research has recently gained much interest from academics seeking to investigate a particular topic. This study aims to explore the interest of marketing specialists in investigating marketing-related topics using bibliometric analysis. The paper includes the following sections: general information about bibliometric analysis, research methodology and how the database of articles was designed, data analysis results, conclusions and other insights. In this study, we considered the Scopus database for selecting the set of scientific papers. The applications used in the data analysis process are VOSviewer and QDA Miner. To achieve the purpose of the research, we analysed the productivity and impact of countries, journals and papers on the topic of bibliometric analysis in marketing. We also tried to identify the marketing-related concepts that generated the most interest from the specialists in their bibliometric analysis. The study aims to highlight the favorite topics related to marketing that specialists are interested in exploring through bibliometric research.