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The years 1860 to 1960 witnessed the birth and rapid expansion of the modern pulp and paper industry. Its sine qua non was access to enormous volumes of conifer trees that grew in the northern hemisphere’s temperate and boreal forests. Predictably, countries in northern Europe with large swaths of these woodlands became home to substantial pulp and paper industries. This article explains why Great Britain represented Europe’s glaring exception to this rule. Unique circumstances allowed it to become Europe’s largest newsprint producer even though it suffered from a dearth of conifers. Britain’s newspaper publishers grew their circulations and created the largest newsprint market in Europe for most of the period under examination. To meet their exploding demand for paper, they gained control over their country’s newsprint industry. Like producers in other western European countries, they looked to Scandinavia to address their lack of domestic wood supplies, but they also exploited their imperial connection to access a prodigious supply of fibre and pulps in Canada and Newfoundland. Britain’s competitive advantage in this regard was political and not economic because tapping this distant source of raw materials was costly. Nevertheless, British producers were able to absorb the higher costs because their business was vertically integrated. However, British producers could not outrun their resource deficit forever. Changing global industry conditions after World War II caused them to lose their preponderant standing.

Several works of the extant literature have explored tax compliance behaviour. Some studies investigated factors that have a positive effect on tax compliance behaviour. In contrast, some studies use individual theories, and other empirical studies focus on institutional theories to explain tax compliance behaviour. Moreover, some literature has opined that tax compliance behaviour is based on economic factors, while other studies have expounded on social factors. Yet there is a tiny debate regarding the probability of amalgamating both the quality of the e-tax system and attitude towards the e-tax system using multiple mediators to explain tax compliance behaviour. This paper advances the model suggesting that tax compliance behaviour is the result of the interplay of the quality of the e-tax system (employing the IS Success Model) and the attitude towards the e-tax system (arraying the technology acceptance model and the theory of planned behaviour). We suggest that both the quality of the e-tax system and the attitude towards the e-tax system are considerable constructs in expounding on tax compliance behaviour through multiple mediators (user satisfaction and behavioural intention).

With concepts like the consumer revolution or the industrious revolution, the changing behaviour of private households in the 18th and early 19th centuries has become of great interest. The article suggests a new way to observe intentions and decisions, by utilizing a database of 850,000 classified ads from the Basel Avisblatt over a span of 116 years. Changes in food prices constantly altered the discretionary income of households, which forced budget-related decisions. By cross-correlating indicators of discretionary income with the changing number of different types of ads, patterns of utilizing the Avisblatt can be identified, and strategies to stabilize discretionary income deduced.

In response to the crisis of globalisation since the new crown epidemic, the importance of regionalisation at the national development level has become increasingly evident. Using the Pearl River Delta region in China and the Cluj-Napoca region in Romania as research subjects, this paper presents a comparative and interdisciplinary analysis of the drivers of regional innovation for sustainable development, the approaches and impacts of policy formulation and the dimensions of the impact of regional innovation on sustainable development through a literature analysis and case study approach. The study shows that the drivers of regional innovation for sustainable development mainly include government support (including financial and platform support) and the industrial capacity of local innovation and entrepreneurship (including academic capacity and industrialisation capacity); government policy formulation mainly has centralised and decentralised approaches, with centralisation requiring large upfront investment and decentralisation facing challenges in the integration of industry and research; the dimensions of regional innovation for sustainable development The main impact dimensions of regional innovation on sustainable development are industry-research synergy, social welfare, low carbon and environmental protection, and talent training. Through case studies, this paper also makes recommendations for stakeholders on the practical application of regional innovation. The findings and implications of this study are important references for policy makers, practitioners and researchers.

Sustainability leadership is a strategy approach that gives direction, alignment, and commitment while dealing with social, environmental and economic concerns in order to produce a better society. The focus of the paper is to highlight the sustainable leadership in the European corporate setting. To achieve this aim, two objectives have been formulated. The first objective is to ascertain the importance of integrating sustainability measures in organizations and the second one is to illustrate the connection between sustainable behaviours and sustainability values among managers. The current research paper focuses on conducting a statistical analysis of data gathered from the Sustainable Leadership in Europe Report. The data, deemed pertinent to the study, was accumulated, consolidated, and evaluated using Microsoft Excel and SPSS Statistical Software to derive conclusions aligned with the research objectives. To summarize the results, it seems that companies in Europe have implemented the sustainability measure of identify sustainability risks; opportunities the most, while the last measure of performance measurement and reporting has the lowest implementation percentage across all countries. Also, I found a strong and direct connection between the relationship between the self-identification with sustainable behaviors and sustainability values for managers. The reason choosing to do this article is that sustainable leadership is a current topic and probably those interested in this topic will find this valuable, especially PhD students and other people who want to learn more about this subject. Overall, the article contributes to the growing body of research on sustainable leadership and provides practical insights that can be applied in the European corporate setting. The intention to improve the statistical analysis and gather up-to-date and relevant data for all European Union countries in future studies further emphasizes the importance and relevance of this topic.

In a global business environment facing more and more risks (recession risk, geo-economic risk, natural risks) digitalization can represent a solution for increasing resilience at the level of the supply chain. The development of new technologies has created the premises for the transformation of traditional logistics chains into digital logistics chains and the pandemic crisis accelerated the process for most companies and institutions. The scope of this paper is identifying the interest in researching the subject of supply chain digitalization. The study is based on a quantitative research method, bibliometric analysis. A query was conducted on the Scopus platform database to identify scientific works (research articles, books, papers presented at conferences) that include keywords specific to our topic, in the title, abstract or body. The results of our study confirm a growing scientific interest for researching the topic of supply chain digitization: from 2002 to February 2023, 913 documents addressing this subject or related issues were identified.

The rapid expansion of the globalization process worldwide has continuously shaped the post-Cold War world. It is said that the last three decades represented a period of global economic integration through financial, trade and informational channels. One of the effects of the vast spread of the globalization process was the emergence and expansion of a new type of competition, entitled hypercompetition. Characterised by intense and ceaseless change, innovative competitors and unsustainable competitive advantages, hypercompetition is practically met in all fields of activity. This is why innovation, a prerequisite of competitiveness, has become increasingly important as, in order to achieve superior economic performance, both countries and organizations should make significant efforts to constantly innovate. The goals of the paper are to briefly define the concepts of national competitiveness and innovation, and to illustrate their relationship in the case of countries in the period 2019-2022. The authors achieved the objectives of the paper through a qualitative research method. The paper provides a better understanding of the terms of national competitiveness and innovation. Its novelty is given by the fact that it demonstrates that national competitiveness and innovation are connected at a global level. In the period 2019-2022, developed capitalist countries, in their vast majority, dominated in an obvious manner the top of the world's most competitive and innovative countries. These results may help policymakers and experts who are in charge of designing national strategies

A global value chain (GVC) comprises the whole sequence of production stages and business processes that are organized across different countries. Upgrading in GVCs is the process of shifting to activities, products or economic sectors, which generate a higher level of value-added. In the light of selected bibliographic sources, improved competitiveness is viewed as the result of upgrading and we begin with the assumption that a growth in marketshare is a gauge of both competitiveness and upgrading. The primary goal of this paper is to evaluate the proposition that upgrading in global value chains is a result of increasing GVC participation and of a rise in the share of domestic services value-added included in gross exports. A random effect regression model of panel data was the research method applied to verify this hypothesis in the manufacturing sector in Central and Eastern EU member states. The main results lead to a positive impact of both GVC participation and share of domestic services value-added in gross exports on GVC upgrading. This allowed for the option of making a few recommendations for a more widespread and intense involvement in GVCs, where the knowledge transmission can be exploited. The possible practical implications of the paper are that the learning effects coming from other partnersin GVC should be nurtured and used to improve market share or evolve to higher value-added activities. Servicification of manufacturing can lead to a more competitive position along the GVC, especially if the included services lead to innovation and increased productivity. The investigation of the interaction between GVC participation and service inclusion in production and their effects on upgrading and competitiveness constitutes the paper's novel contribution.

The research objective of the paper is twofold: firstly, to investigate how the adoption of innovative practices in the wine industry from the environmental, social, and conventional points of view influences consumers' choices in Bulgaria, and secondly, what is the connection between eco-innovation and consumer attitudes. Based on the results from the previous research study, we calculate index values for different types of innovations and we use the k-means clustering procedure to explore consumers' attitudes towards eco-innovations in Bulgaria by determining an optimal number of clusters. Bulgarian young consumers (under 26 age) are environmentally friendly and orientated towards eco-innovations in the wine industry with special emphasis on recycling (water, energy) and replacing materials. Our findings confirm other recent studies that preferences for eco-innovations in the wine industry are correlated with a willingness to pay more for organic wines. In the present paper, eco-innovation in the wine industry is studied from the demand side, which is traditionally neglected. To our knowledge, clustering analysis for customer attitudes regarding eco-innovations in the wine industry is applied for the first time in Bulgaria. The results of the study can be helpful for wine managers, technical specialists, and wine-producing companies to prioritize their green efforts for the youth generation in Bulgaria.

This paper examines the matter of gender digital divide, a phenomenon which limits the equitable realization of digital transformation benefits. A synthesis of deep root causes is presented to better understand the issue and the factors contributing to women's exclusion from digitalization. The case study examines the gender gap in the European Union by analyzing three indicators: percentage of the population who has used the internet in the past 12 months, percentage of the population who has used the internet to interact with public authorities, and percentage of population who has used the internet for online banking and e-commerce. Based on the indicators, gender gap was calculated in absolute and relative terms and the beta convergence is also analyzed. Results show the remarkable evolution in terms of both digital transformation and reducing the gender gap at EU-27 level and a distinct pattern of β-convergence, proving that countries which start with lower ICT indicators achieve higher growth over time. Most of the EU member states focused on the issue and created gender-adaptive policies which helped them reduce the gap in the past ten years. Finally, the paper displays a collection of such best practices and measures that promote complete participation and inclusion of women and girls in the digital revolution.

It is well-known that the education level has significant impact on employment prospects on the labor market. Despite a slight decrease in the number of tertiary graduates in 2018-2019, the year 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic began, was marked by an increase in the indicator-level. In the long term, the supply of tertiary graduates registered an upward trend. The paper performs - in a note of originality - a cluster analysis of the European countries by the correlation between the evolution of the graduates with higher education and that of the employment rate of the highly qualified, in order to identify the main behavioral patterns. As a novelty element, the paper tests the hypothesis of the existence of statistically significant changes from the perspective of the share of tertiary graduates and that of the employment rate of highly educated, during the current pandemic crisis compared to the previous global financial crisis. The results indicated an important improvement only of the second indicator, which shows the need to develop policies to stimulate the youth to raise their education level, and thus improve the situation on the labor market, even in crisis times.

Even though many individuals may perceive slavery as a past memory, it nonetheless has a significant impact on society today on a multitude of levels. The modern slavery phenomenon is the consequence of past slavery as it currently exists. Its worldwide effects range from social and cultural impacts to economic and business-related implications. The purpose of this paper is to explore various papers and studies within the academic and grey literature on the profitability of both past and modern slavery, with a focus on how modern slavery may encourage consumption in different industries. The present paper's purpose was accomplished using a qualitative research methodology, more precisely, content analysis. The findings indicate that, in contrast to past slavery, which is typically viewed as profitable and the main driving force of the economic development of certain wealthy empires, such as the British, and Dutch empires, modern slavery has a negative impact on the global economy, contributing to poverty and underdevelopment. Moreover, the fast fashion industry provides several examples of cases in which modern slavery was used to increase consumption in this field. The conclusions of this article raise serious concerns about the issue of modern slavery since it perpetuates economic underdevelopment and poverty, and because the process of uninformed consumption in some industries may contribute to the persistence of this phenomenon. Therefore, this stringent matter allows opportunity for more research and discussion.

The development of a national economy generally takes into account its capability to generate and maintain access to energy resources constantly. Thus, powerful nations are usually associated with considerable energy consumptions. However, this correlation can slowly disappear as soon as nations focus their attention towards renewable energy and intensify its contribution to sustainable growth. Sustainable development can be achieved through conservation of natural resources, sustainable agriculture, education of the labour force and adaptation to modern technologies. The education system must be tailored in accordance with the changing requirements as the perspectives of the society are currently oriented towards a green economy supported by green technologies. The aims of this research paper are to examine the current situation of renewable energy in Romania and to question the ability of household to transition to green energy. In order to reach the objectives of this research paper, the author used secondary quantitative research methodology. Therefore, the author identified and obtained the necessary information through desk research from mainly top scientific journals related to this topic and Eurostat. Significant increase in the energy prices directly impacts both the economic operators and household consumption as the disposable income for households will be reduced drastically due to the inflation being present in many other sectors. From 2018 to 2020, the gross final energy consumption as well as the renewable energy production have increased year by year. However, in 2021, the gross final energy consumption as well as the renewable energy production have slightly decreased due to the inflation affecting energy input and raw materials prices. The originality of this research paper consists in the fact that it provides an up-to-date overview of the Romanian economy and its energy sector, including a viable solution to the energy problem.

Innovation, the engine of well-developed economies, is crucial worldwide. Even in times of disruption, as the last years confirmed, the companies that continued to have innovation in the focus were better prepared for facing challenges and identifying new opportunities for future positive development. Innovation can make the difference between a well-run business and one that is driven by inertia. It is obvious that innovative activities can improve business development, but it is unclear how to build an efficient innovation system or strategy. In order to study the way innovation is approached in food organizations, in Romania, we have conducted an exploratory research, structured on 5 important topics: how organizations are defining innovations, what kind of innovations are developed, how innovation is implemented and managed, what measurement methods are used, and which is the strategy for innovation management. An additional topic was focused on companies' concerns towards sustainability. After conducting the exploratory empirical research, a SWOT analysis was developed, to uncover the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats in the Romanian food industry's approach to innovation. The aim of the paper is to point out the opportunities and beneficial elements of innovation management in Romania's food sector, but also the weaknesses and threats in order to identify ways of surpassing them. The purpose of the research is answering the following questions: What is the importance of innovation management, sustainability, and quality management in the Romanian food companies? Is there a common definition and a common approach for innovation management in food industry? What measurement methods are used for measuring the impact of innovation? Which is the strategy for innovation management? The structure of the research, with practical implications, offers an additional novelty and originality approach for studying the innovation management in Romania's food sector. According to National Statistical Institute Innovation data, big organizations are driving the most consistent part of the economic growth, therefore, in the present paper, the authors could reveal important aspects to be considered for an Innovation Management Model which could fit all food companies, no matter the size

The current context of the electricity markets is marked by the lingering effects of COVID-19 and the conflict in Ukraine that have a significant influence on the European wholesale electricity markets. Both Day-Ahead Market (DAM) and balancing market have been heavily impacted by fluctuating prices. This trend started in October 2021 when the lockdowns were removed and the high request for commodities led to a higher inflation. Then in 2022, the conflict in Ukraine accentuated this evolution and even higher prices were recorded for electricity, gas, oil and other resources. In this paper, we analyze a set of fundamental variables and provide an electricity price forecast on DAM using a multiple regression model. The exogenous variables considered in this paper are the following: power system data (total consumption, total generation and its breakdown: renewables (RES) and Non-RES), economic data (inflation, interest rate), certificate price for CO2 emissions (EU-ETS), level of Danube River and other resources prices (oil, gas). Interesting insights can be extracted from a data set that consists of merged time series collected from January 2019 until August 2022. The results are measured using Mean Absolute Percentage Error (MAPE).

In the context of climate change, the objectives of this paper concern the perception of green energy and programs and plans that encourage it, the perception regarding the measures necessary to be taken in terms of green energy and the perception regarding societal marketing actions in the field of energy. The study was carried out by exploiting the primary sources of information, using direct qualitative research, the investigation being realized using semi-directed interviews, and the studied population consisted of potential consumers of green energy. The analysis of the results of the research indicates that most of the interviewed subjects perceived climate change as a danger and also that the majority are familiarised with the forms of green energy and have a formed opinion about the necessary measures. In the study, the measures were divided according to their ex-post (reduction of negative effects) or ex-ante (prevention) character and also function on the decision level at which the mentioned measures are taken: measures at the individual level, measures at the level of energy producers, measures at the level of energy-consuming companies and measures involving government programs and legislative power. In the paper, the perceived societal marketing role in the field of energy is also studied and the specific mix of marketing is presented, which can have important practical implications.

The objective of the paper is to introduce a teaching strategy designed to improve students' engagement in management accounting classes. During the pandemics, the authors of this paper introduced a new requirement for the students, the question of the week. Instead of a normal homework, the teachers designed new questions, involving aspects from several chapters, with a higher degree of difficulty, or designed questions which required each student to introduce his or her own figures. The method describes the context and an example of application with solution. The results indicate that the questions improved the student engagement and their understanding of the concepts. The approach is original, as it helps the teacher to create example for each student. It can be used in both online and face-to-face teaching.

The paper aims to examine the global carbon performance of companies from the perspective of national diffusion. According to the Paris Agreement, listed companies from non-OECD countries produce average carbon dioxide cheaper than listed companies from OECD countries. However, the spread of corporate carbon dioxide emissions is lower in OECD countries compared to non-OECD countries, due to the increase in average national carbon dioxide emissions. Also, the spread of corporate carbon dioxide emissions at the country level in the post-Paris Agreement period is inversely correlated with foreign stock ownership. This result confirms our hypothesis that advanced foreign investors from rich countries have a significant positive effect on the efficiency of indigenous firms in developing countries in managing carbon emissions.While the sources checked for this paper may focus on different dependent variables at times, they all address the subject of whether a stricter and more enforceable regulatory framework on carbon emission may lead to a healthier and sustainable environment. We used the quantitative and qualitative analysis to see in what extent large sets of data regarding various indicators of corporate carbon performance are confirmed by a rate of success in the yearly sustainability reports released by the large international companies and international organizations. Further research may also focus on different strategies which aim to produce effects in the long run, not necessarily linked with corporate targets. For this, the topic should be addressed on the level of the entire society and the mission of the governments, and the international community is to find the best way for cooperation.

The present paper aims to provide a comprehensive approach to the senior entrepreneurship literature, by employing a systematic review process, focusing on scientometric and content analyses. A data set of 47 articles indexed in the Clarivate Analytics Web of Science database was subject to investigation, this representing the result of a search in Web of Science Core Collection (Social Sciences Citation Index, Emerging Sources Citation Index, Science Citation Index Expanded) during April 2023. The employed scientometric analysis outlines a classification of the investigated senior entrepreneurship literature based on years of publication, subject areas, main authors, geographical distribution of the articles, most productive institutions, representative journals and publishers. Additionally, due to the developed content analysis over the abstracts of the articles included in the data set, the main research trajectories in the investigated senior entrepreneurship literature could be established. These particularly envisaged the studied topics, applied theories, employed research methods, and the main researched regions. Furthermore, starting from these premises, a future research agenda in the field of senior entrepreneurship was designed. The original analyses developed within the paper and the proposed novel research agenda bring a contribution to the scientific literature in the area of senior entrepreneurship, with important practical implications for scholars with research interests in the field.

This paper investigates whether the euro or renminbi could join or even replace the US dollar as a dominant global reserve currency. The US dollar has long been dominant in international trade and finance, due to the size and stability of the US economy and the liquidity of US financial markets. The euro of the European Union (EU) and the renminbi of China challenge the hegemony of the US dollar. The Eurozone's institutional framework provides political stability and strong monetary authority, which make the associated currency, the euro, attractive as a potential reserve currency. China’s rise as a global economic power promotes the use of its currency in international transactions, propelling global acceptance of the renminbi. China has explicitly challenged US dominance in many international arenas, including finance. In this paper, it is useful for an econophysics approach to measure the sign of the strength of coupling. This approach is adapted to define the divergence rate of the US dollar in relation to other currencies, specifically the euro and the renminbi, by quantifying how the dollar diverges over time based on currency indexes. It involves calculating forces that represent the divergence rates between the US dollar and these currencies, using a modified version of Coulomb's law. It also illuminates the dynamics of reserve currency competition, reaffirming the US dollar's central role in the global financial system from 2001 to 2022. Despite the emergence of potential challengers like the euro and renminbi, the dollar’s dominance is likely to continue. As China’s economy, international trade, and military power have expanded, the renminbi is increasingly seen as a potential reserve currency in the global financial system. However, China has shown a willingness to centralize political power, perhaps making other countries more likely to resist the renminbi becoming a reserve currency. The euro and renminbi do not present credible alternatives to the US dollar because (1) political fragmentation within the EU and differing fiscal policies among member states undermine the euro's reliability as a universal reserve asset, and (2) China enacts significant capital controls, lacks financial market transparency, and maintains a tight grip on economic policies. The US dollar's unparalleled liquidity, its deep financial markets, and America’s geopolitical influence ensure the dollar’s continued dominance as the world's primary reserve currency. The inherent structural and political challenges the euro and renminbi face make both unlikely to displace the dollar in the foreseeable future. Broader US hegemony, arising from it having the world's largest economy and strongest military, has supported the dollar’s dominant role as a reserve currency, a dominance expected to endure.

This research paper addresses the forecasting of Ukraine’s macroeconomic dynamics amidst a full-scale war, which has profoundly impacted its economy, causing disruptions in key sectors like agriculture and energy. The significance of this research lies in its focus on an economy facing severe wartime disruptions and providing crucial forecasts for recovery and policy planning. The study uses the ARIMA (Autoregressive Integrated Moving Average) model to analyse various economic indicators, including GDP, inflation, unemployment, public debt, foreign direct investment, and currency devaluation. ARIMA models are chosen for their effectiveness in handling time series data that exhibit autocorrelation, making them suitable for analysing macroeconomic trends in volatile environments. Data was collected from a wide range of national and international sources, and the ARIMA model was applied to identify correlations, trends, and potential scenarios for Ukraine’s economy. The research finds that Ukraine’s economy has suffered significantly due to the war, with indicators like GDP and the unemployment rate experiencing extreme fluctuations. The destruction of infrastructure, displacement of millions, and blockades of key sectors have led to a sharp contraction in GDP. Furthermore, inflation and currency devaluation have persisted due to supply chain disruptions and energy shortages. The analysis reveals strong positive autocorrelations in economically active population figures and the unemployment rate, indicating consistent trends over short lags. In contrast, weak but statistically significant autocorrelations are found in foreign exchange reserves and public debt. The study also observes that foreign direct investment in Ukraine demonstrates cyclical behaviour, with downturns during crises like the war and the global financial crisis. The monetary policy responses by the National Bank of Ukraine, particularly interest rate hikes, have played a key role in stabilizing inflation, but inflationary pressures remain high. The war's impact on critical sectors such as agriculture, energy, and industrial production suggests that reconstruction and recovery will be contingent on external financial support and strategic economic policies. The paper discusses the challenges and complexities of forecasting economic dynamics in conflict zones, where traditional economic models are insufficient to account for the uncertainties and shocks caused by conflict. The use of ARIMA models has proven effective for short-term forecasting, but the paper emphasizes the need for dynamic models that incorporate war-related variables like military expenditures, sanctions, and international aid inflows. The research underscores the crucial role of international institutions, such as the IMF and the World Bank, in aiding Ukraine's recovery through accurate macroeconomic forecasts. These forecasts guide the disbursement of international aid and shape policies for the country's reconstruction. Moreover, the paper notes the potential for Ukraine’s economy to undergo structural transformations toward energy independence, export diversification, and industrial reconstruction. This research is highly relevant for policymakers and international stakeholders involved in Ukraine's post-war economic planning, offering insights into the country's macroeconomic dynamics and potential paths for stabilization and recovery. Accurate forecasts are pivotal for guiding resource allocation, managing inflation, and ensuring long-term economic stability.

The topic of digitalization has become increasingly relevant as it plays a critical role in shaping the competitiveness of European countries in a globalized economy. This research paper aims to examine the impact of digitalization on the competitiveness of selected European countries by analysing key indicators that define digital progress and economic performance. Digital transformation has been identified as a fundamental driver of economic growth, innovation, and efficiency across various sectors, emphasizing the importance of digital technologies in shaping contemporary economies. The study utilizes a combination of correlation, canonical, and regression analyses to systematically explore the relationship between digitalization and competitiveness. Data for 10 European countries – Finland, Sweden, the Netherlands, Germany, Italy, France, Spain, Luxembourg, Denmark, and Portugal – was collected from the European Commission, World Economic Forum, and official sources from IMD and WIPO over the period from 2017 to 2022. The key indicators analysed include the Digital Economy and Society Index, Global Competitiveness Index, Global Innovation Index, E-Government Index, and R&D expenditure as a percentage of GDP. These variables were selected to comprehensively assess the state of digitalization and its correlation with national competitiveness. Findings from the analysis suggest that digitalization has a profound influence on the competitiveness of the countries studied. High DESI and GII scores, indicating advanced digital integration and innovation capacity, are positively correlated with a higher GCI score, reflecting global competitiveness. Moreover, R&D expenditure emerged as a significant factor contributing to digital readiness and economic performance. The disparities in digitalization levels across countries highlight the uneven progress in adopting digital technologies, suggesting a need for policies that enhance digital infrastructure, skills development, and innovation ecosystems. The discussion emphasizes that digitalization drives the transformation of traditional business models, improves efficiency in manufacturing (Industry 4.0), and fosters innovation in services such as fintech, e-commerce, and public administration. However, challenges like the digital skills gap, regulatory barriers, and differences in infrastructure and policy readiness persist, impacting the overall ability of European countries to leverage digital transformation for competitiveness. The paper concludes by advocating for continued investment in digital infrastructure, balanced regulatory frameworks, and skill development initiatives to maximize the benefits of digitalization and enhance the competitive standing of European nations in the digital economy.

Cultured meat obtained in vitro from animal cells represents one of the recent concern of specialists, who thus try to solve part of the issues related to animal welfare and sustainable meat production. Beyond the technical difficulties that must be overcome, the acceptance of cultured meat by consumers is not an easy goal to achieve, as it depends on factors acting both at global and local level. Since this paper focuses on Romanian consumers, the authors emphasize the importance of developing a general information framework that would allow firstly their understanding and further their acceptance of cultured meat. For this purpose, a systematic literature review, based on 38 articles, was carried out in order to observe good practices at international level, which led, in the past, to the acceptance of other significant innovations in the food field. Thus, five directions of action were identified: communication, knowledge, trust, perception and attitudes. Based on these, a model of cultured meat acceptance by Romanian was developed. This initiative is unique in Romania so far and its results can be of interest for many categories of specialists, from scholars and researchers to practitioners interested in launching new products on the market or policymakers in the field of nutrition, public health and agriculture. Further research is needed on the relationships between food security and safety, traditional meat production and cultured meat as alternative to real meat, before the marketplace launch of this new product.

In the last years, the entire world faced many challenges that led to the awareness by governments of the need to consider the 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) depending on the particularities of each country and global challenges. Therefore, our research has as its main objective the analysis of the values of the SDG Index in correlation with the particularities of the different countries subject to the research, but also according to other indices related to the SDGs. Our results proved that the Dispersal of Information is a source of the need for more interest of decision-makers at national and international levels in carrying out concrete improvement actions of SGDs, especially in many low-income countries (LICs) and lower-middle-income countries (LMICs). Therefore, the paper's originality demonstrates that the data used to calculate the SDG Index are subject to the Dispersal of Information and generate divergent decisions with negative consequences on implementing SDGs in different countries and regions. The theoretical implications of our research consist of the critical analysis of the complexity of the SDGs and how the Dispersal of Information acts on the relevance and effectiveness of some indicators of the SDGs. Finally, the practical implications are translated into recommendations for the decision-makers implementing the SDGs at the national level.

The European integration process has fostered the continuous advancement of economic relations with the EU, necessitating the modernization of domestic legislation through alignment with EU regulations, particularly in the realm of competition within the agro-food sector. The liberalization of competition is a positive catalyst for product diversification, consumer welfare, economic growth, and overall quality of life. The paper aims to assess the level of harmonization between national regulations governing the agrifood market and European regulations. The research entails the analysis of local legislation in the food sector, relevant scholarly works, and reports from the Competition Office. The findings indicate that the food industry and retail food trade are economic activities that require the elimination of anti-competitive barriers and the promotion of free competition. Furthermore, the provision of state aid to public companies must adhere to competition rules and avoid detrimental effects on the functioning of the market's supply and demand mechanism. In addition, the study aims to provide valuable insights into the challenges and opportunities associated with the harmonization process. By examining the effectiveness of existing regulatory frameworks and identifying areas for improvement, this research contributes to the ongoing discussions on promoting fair competition and enhancing market efficiency in the agri-food sector. The findings of this study will inform policymakers, industry stakeholders, and researchers, enabling them to make informed decisions and develop strategies that foster a competitive and sustainable agri-food market in line with European standards. It is important to note that this research represents a preliminary analysis of competition in the agro-food chain, with further exploration planned as part of the doctoral training program.

The approval of national specific legislative acts and the subsequent elaboration of the regional Water Protection Plans have raised attention on reclaimed wastewater as an abundant usable resource for irrigation or industrial purposes in the Apulia region. Among interesting cultivation pomegranate represent a commodity with niche market share among consumers paying attention to healthy way of life. In the present paper the objective of evaluating the environmental impact and nutritional efficiency of this resource was achieved by comparing 3 treatment scenarios: a) Irrigation with conventional water and fertilization capable of satisfying 100% of the expected nutritional requirements; b) Irrigation with reclaimed urban wastewater and fertilization capable of satisfying 100% of the expected nutritional requirements and c) Irrigation with refined urban waste water and fertilization capable of satisfying 50% of the expected nutritional requirements. The methodology to evaluate the impact assessment was the Life Cycle Assessment. Findings indicate the reclaimed wastewater scenario as the lowest impacting due to electricity consumption for the pumping system of the irrigation infrastructure of pomegranate. Fertirrigation of pomegranate using reclaimed wastewater with 50% lower fertilization does not satisfy the nutrient needs and this supplement should be commensurate to the reclaimed wastewater nutrient content. Results provide to stakeholders the sustainable decision support and this represent the practical implication of this study. Moreover the case study represents an original subject both for the crop, fertirrigation and the location choice of the cultivation and the methodology used.

Human resource management (HRM) is a critical field in business and organizations, and practices in this field can significantly influence employee engagement and organizational culture. The paper proposes a model for evaluating the effects of HRM practices on employee commitment and organizational culture. The empirical study in which the model is tested was carried out among 294 employees from Romanian organizations who answered the questionnaire questions. Structural equation modeling was used to process the data and obtain the results. HRM practices can directly influence employee engagement and organizational culture. Involving employees in the decision-making process, offering opportunities for career development, properly managing labor relations, and promoting diversity and inclusion are HRM practices that can increase employee engagement and develop a positive organizational culture. The study has important managerial implications by highlighting HRM practices that substantially affect employee engagement and organizational culture. Employees more involved and loyal to the organization are more likely to respect its values and goals, so the organizational culture becomes more substantial and better defined. Therefore, organizations must implement HRM practices that help increase employee engagement and develop a more robust and better-defined organizational culture.

The present paper examines the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic on the financial situation of Romanian Households, using a simple random sampling without replacement. For a larger investigation of the survey results, that offers a new perception in looking at issues of financial stability, a binary logistic regression model was applied in order to econometrically quantify the relationship between determinants and respondents' behavior regarding the use of savings to pay bills and credits commitment during the coronavirus pandemic. The results of the model show that the respondents' household with four members and over used 2.75 times more savings to pay bills and credits commitment than those consisting of three or fewer members. It should be mention that, among the respondents participating in the research, slightly over 28 percent of the respondents have no emergency savings at all. In addition, less than a quarter of the responses (16.5 percent) indicate that staple foods were purchased with borrowed money in order to meet the basic consumption needs. The analysis of households' resilience to shocks is significant in the epidemic context, as the ability of households to cope with the shock determines how much consumption will decrease and whether debtors will register outstanding debts.

The purpose of the article is to shed light on the characterization of the development and limitations of telemedicine in Romania, as well as on related managerial actions for change and implementation of telemedicine at the institution level. Adopting an exploratory approach, this paper analyzes the documentation found in various publications and scientific articles to illustrate the potential advantages of implementing telemedicine in Romania. The method used is descriptive and quantitative, given the fact that the subject is very widely discussed. Telemedicine cannot replace a classic medical examination, but it can play the role of a preliminary medical consultation, having multiple benefits for both the patient and the healthcare professionals. Telemedicine improves the quality of life of patients with chronic diseases that require continuous monitoring, reducing the frequency of visits to the doctor and the number of hospitalizations. Along with all the other benefits presented in this article, properly used telemedicine can be an important resource for health systems leading to an increase in the quality of medical services. In a context where the development of telemedicine still remains deficient in this country, knowing the benefits offered by telemedicine in the medical field leads to the efficiency of its implementation within the institution. Through a more in-depth analysis of the advantages of telemedicine, we want to encourage providers of medical services and to expedite the transition from the design phase to the implementation and development phase at the national level. The future of telemedicine foresees, along with a wide applicability of artificial intelligence, services for the management and improvement of chronic diseases, as well as health services offered in the comfort of the home, offering the opportunity for the Romanian health system to solve the unequal distribution of medical resources at the national level.

This article studies in a systematic way, based on specialized research literature, the benefits of the XBRL standardized reporting of the financial-accounting statements and the impact of its use on the company's relationship with the capital markets. XBRL digital reporting standards emerged as a necessity for the development of economic processes in global markets, realizing the informational link between companies and stakeholders, including investors, through information technology. The paper uses, as a foundation, the research based on the analysis of the specialized literature, highlighting the benefits of XBRL reporting within the information process of the capital markets: reducing the costs of acquiring, accessing, processing and analysing information. The responses of these markets were immediate, the analysed studies demonstrated as immediate effects of the standards implementation, the improvement of the company image among investors, the increase of the entities market value and the increase of the capital markets ensemble efficiency. Our study is primarily addressed to companies, in substantiating the decision regarding of these reporting standards implementation.

This paper aims to analyse the correlation between the two dimensions of motivation (intrinsic and extrinsic), rewards and recognition, and employee performance, being one of the first studies to tackle this problem in the context of the service industry of Southern Romania. The data was collected using a quantitative survey of 161 employees from various service industries, such as retail, hospitality, healthcare, and professional services. The results were analysed using partial least square structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) using SmartPLS4.10 software. Our findings have shown that there is a strong, positive relationship between intrinsic motivation, on the one hand, and extrinsic motivation, on the other hand, and employee satisfaction, as well as between rewards and recognition and extrinsic motivation. Moreover, our research did not find a significant correlation between rewards and recognition and intrinsic motivation, maybe due to the way reward and recognition (RR) was constructed, most items being related to financial, tangible rewards, which tend to have a more significant influence on extrinsic motivation (EM) rather than intrinsic motivation (IM). Our findings might be of use for service managers to better understand how to motivate their employees in order to ensure their maximum performance.

The current paper emphasizes the role that e-learning platforms play in upskilling and reskilling of the European workforce, thus improving the competitiveness and contributing to a stronger digital landscape. By using a mixed-method approach, combining literature review, document and trend analysis with descriptive statistical analysis, the auhors have examined the relationship between e-learning platforms and the European digital society. The research revealed substantial disparities in digital skill proficiency and online learning adoption among European citizens, emphasizing the need for targeted strategies to boost digital literacy and fully harness the potential of e-learning platforms in improving digital skills. European countries should capitalize on the progress made in the last two years and work towards creating digital educational tools and methods that are of higher quality, more readily available and more inclusive. Although a number of programs and target objectives are in place to support the digitalization of education in Europe, the e-learning platforms still represent an underutilized tool that can help to increase digital skills among European citizens. The potential to improve the digital skills is still high and an extra focus should be granted to the programs that improve these on a national or cross border level. The originality of the article consists of a review of relevant statistics regarding the most recent evolution of online learning and digital skills, along with an examination of the existing frameworks at the European level that have an aim to improve digital education and skills. This research contributes to a better understanding of the complex and expansive nature of e-learning platforms and the European Digital Society and can offer valuable insights to policymakers and other stakeholders such as decision-makers from various organizations, educators and technologists

The COVID pandemic has accelerated the digital transformation (DT) in organizations. Given that organizations with high digital maturity enjoy better financial outcomes than their competitors, budgets for digital transformation have recently increased significantly. This article provides a narrative review of the change management (CM) practices that have proven successful in the context of DT in comparison to the theoretical CM models, with three purposes: firstly, to validate the most effective CM practices for DT, secondly, to identify existing, but unemployed theoretical CM practices that could benefit DT and thirdly, to enhance the field of CM with new tactics that have proven successful in DT. Given the rapid pace of DT during COVID, the organizational change has been done ad-hoc and often without structure or analysis. This paper compares DT and CM theory and practice for the first time in the context of COVID. The findings show that leadership support, engaging people managers, creating change agent networks, efficient communication, training, as well as change reinforcement lead to better DT outcomes. DT could employ more of the tactics suggested by the CM theory in the areas of communication, coaching of people managers, leveraging change agent networks, assessing organizational change readiness and resistance management tactics. CM could adopt new tactics regarding participation of employees, collaboration with external partners and attracting outside talent. Both could benefit from more emphasis on organization culture. The findings represent a good foundation of best practices for DT and for developing a CM model that applies specifically to DT.

Organizational change can significantly impact organizational performance, but this impact can be different depending on the nature and purpose of the change and how it is managed. The paper proposes a model for evaluating the effects of the organizational change process on organizational performance, staff retention, and organizational abandonment. The empirical study in which the model is tested was carried out among 294 employees from Romanian organizations who answered the questionnaire questions. Structural equation modeling was used to process the data and obtain the results. Effective change management and employee involvement in the change process can contribute to the success of organizational change and the development of a positive organizational culture, leading to increased organizational performance, high employee retention, and the organizational dropout rate minimization. In addition, organizations should also consider open and transparent communication with employees, as well as providing support in developing the skills and competencies of employees so that they can adapt to organizational changes and contribute to the organization's success.

Our paper aims to critically analyze the scientific literature regarding the competencies of project managers and their role in creating and coordinating an efficient team. To carry out our research, we employed a qualitative research approach based on the study of secondary sources. As a result of the literature review, we have classified and analyzed the competencies of managers that lead to successful project outcomes. Furthermore, based on the particularities and competencies of managers, we have analyzed how the relationship between the manager and the team influences project outcomes. Furthermore, based on the particularities and competencies of managers, we have analyzed how the relationship between the manager and the team influences project outcomes. This research should be considered a starting point for future research by providing insights into the skills and competencies required for effective project management. The project managers and teams can use our findings to develop and implement a strategic vision to achieve project objectives. Moreover, creative skills and the ability to motivate the entire team represent relevant elements to conduct successful projects and strengthening team cohesion. This study is of great relevance to academics and practitioners in project management, as it offers the opportunity to identify areas for improvement and implement corrective measures to enhance project success. Therefore, future research should focus on developing and transforming the manager's skills into a true leader.

The purpose of this study is to analyze the structures, flows and leadership models employed by East European countries in order to build a strong Nation Brand. The country under radar in this paper is Romania. Methodology Qualitative research is employed comprising in face to face semi structured interviews with representatives of Government, Tourism Organization, several industry associations, Cultural Institute. Findings We identified that various activities, programs that could be associated with a Nation Brand strategy are developed as inter-institutional effort, still, no one associated the efforts with the Nation Brand because no formal attention has been awarded to the subject. Even more, some negative associations come from the misconception that Nation Branding is about logo, slogan and advertising campaigns that were much disputed in the past. Research limitations/implications Further research is needed in order to analyze various organization models in east European countries but also comparing those models with the success stories in Nation Branding worldwide, in order to see what can be learnt, what should not be repeated and if there is an ideal organizational and leadership model. Practical implications Countries should find a way to prioritize Nation Branding and employ a model that could live beyond the frequent changes on the political stage. Originality/value This study approaches Nation Branding for the under researched geographic area of East European countries (including Romania) covering also the topic of organization, structure and leadership in Nation Branding. Three decades after the fall of communism, Nation Branding might be a feasible solution for long term thinking, to make themselves more visible and get an active voice and a larger share of the pocket in international trade. The main challenge would be to prioritize Nation Branding and employ a model that could live beyond the frequent changes on the political stage.

The paper approaches the topic of costs when transitioning from a classical manufacturing approach to a circular model in the wood products industry. The purpose of the endeavor is to investigate the main cost categories and to establish their relations and connections, for establishing the basis needed for a detailed quantitative model. The methodology employed starts from a brief literature review, completed by the industry experience of the authors, leading to a theoretical framework that address the costs before and after the aforementioned transition. Our main findings consist in identifying four principal groups of cost items, which are then detailed for the wood products industry and related to the usual accounting practices. The understanding of these connections is important for defining in the future mathematical relations and creating formulas that can be easily applied to any manufacturing company, including from other sectors. The ultimate goals towards which we are working is to facilitate the transition to the circular economy, by reinforcing its environmental benefits and gains with clear arguments pertaining to the efficiency of operating within this paradigm.

This paper investigates, describes and presents business resilience and concerns of companies and SMEs for internationalization in times of globalization and risks. Globalization has exposed them to risks and more attention. The used research method relied on a literature review, a quantitative and qualitative research using VOSviewer and data analysis. The research questions are rWhat the main risks that business and the process of Internationalization could face in times of Globalizations? rIs business resilience important for companies such as SMEs and business? The results showed that Internationalizing a company, taking the example of SMEs is a process that relies on the one hand on the way products and services are well positioned and on the other hand on developing them to stay or enter other markets. Expending business overseas into other markets, countries and continents is not easy due to factors such as the ignorance of market with difficulties in accessing and finance, business operations and worrying about adverse scenarios like wars, recessions, the increase of inflation rate and other risks that affect business and internationalization . In conclusion, business resilience is a great option for companies and SMEs in particular to stay and adapt in international markets and once the business or company is internationalized in a resilient way it proves that its process of internationalization is resilient in times of risks and threats to its abilities. it could be possible that internationalization is not universal between allies since it can be affected by geopolitical instability, differences and conflicts. SMEs in particular and companies in general should rely on resilience as an important step while and before dealing with other markets that are exposed from time to time to risks in the process of internationalization and times of Globalization.

In European Union, concerns for improving the legislative framework of food labeling materialized in Regulation 1924 (2006) which aims to harmonize the rules used for nutrition and health claims such as rsource of vitamin D or rcalcium contributes to normal muscle function addressed to the average consumer; these concerns were accentuated in 2012 by the adoption of Regulation 432, which approves a list of permitted health claims. In compliance with European law, this paper's goal is to examine how the use of nutrition and health claims modifies Romanian customers' dietary choices and overall health. The challenges and difficulties encountered in the implementation and enforcement of this regulation raised interest for our research. Using the advantages of a statistical survey with a sample of 200 people of different genders, ages and educational levels, we aimed to evaluate the effect of nutrition and health claims on food consumption decisions; thus, it is highlighted how the consumers use individual factors (personal eating style), product sensory characteristics (taste) and shelf-life cognitive cues (nutrition label, brand, price) in food selection, but also how this selection influences their food consumption. The results of this work can be helpful to analyze the perception of Romanian consumers about the efficiency, accuracy and consistency of these mentions present on food product labels. The research is all the more valuable as recently many studies have focused on the analysis of BOP (Back-of-pack) or FOP (Front-of-pack) labeling systems. We conclude by discussing possible opportunities to improve the comprehensiveness of these mentions so that consumers can more easily direct their choices towards nutritionally balanced foods and, thus, stimulate and support the responsible behavior of producers.

The volunteering activities in which young people participate play a significant role in individual development, but it also affects society. The diverse challenges in the field of volunteering highlight the factors that motivate young people to carry out volunteering activities. The decision of young people stems from the desire to make contributions to an important cause. The paper aims to identify the practices underlying young people's decisions, identify the peculiarities of volunteering, the types of volunteering, and the typology of volunteers, and evaluate how young people rank the factors that determine them to carry out volunteering activities. Setting up new voluntary initiatives is essential, but particular importance should be attached to methods of integration and retention of young people. Therefore, between January and March 2023, a quantitative study on young people involved in volunteering activities was carried out. Our research objective consists of evaluating the factors that motivate young people to carry out volunteering activities and analyzing the behavior of young people in carrying out volunteering activities. The results prove that young people actively participate in volunteering activities, and gender, age, and level of education are factors influencing the involvement of young people. Furthermore, the young people's lifestyle and the family environment influence their motivation to volunteer and contribute to the community's sustainable development.

The involvement of Artificial intelligence (AI) in the everyday life of consumers has important implications on the way consumer and AI interact. AI and robots can have different roles in the interaction with consumers, from simple transactional exchange relationships to more complex empathetic ones. The present research focuses in finding the constructs that affect these consumer-AI relationships, by analyzing acceptance, trust, interaction quality, empathy, attachment, anthropomorphism, self-disclosing behavior, loyalty. Based on literature review, we focused on pointing out the factors that predict and affect consumerAI interactions. In the first part of the paper the role of trust was analyzed, while in the last part we focused in defining the way in which attachment and gender characteristics affect the relationship between consumer and AI. Our research shows that there are different types of relationships depending on the context, depending on trust, attachment, empathy, loyalty and gender characteristics. These results have important implications in the way robots and AI will be integrated in the shopping experience of consumer. Depending on the closeness of the relationship between consumer-AI, there will be different activities and roles that the AI will take over. For this reason, it is important to understand all facets of this relationship in order to implement it in an optimal way.

This research paper aims to investigate the role of public administration in promoting sustainable development through a case study of global nutrition interventions and population growth. The study employs a case study approach to gain a comprehensive understanding of the challenges and opportunities presented by these issues, and to explore how public administration can effectively address them. The purpose of the research is to generate new insights and hypotheses that can inform theory and practice, as well as to provide practical recommendations for policymakers and practitioners. The methodology of the study involves an in-depth investigation of four different countries, each selected based on their distinct characteristics and challenges related to global nutrition interventions and population growth. Secondary sources of data are used to develop the case study, including reports, policy documents, and academic literature. The research objectives are to identify the key drivers and barriers to promoting sustainable development in each country, to evaluate the effectiveness of current public administration strategies, and to propose practical recommendations for enhancing policy and practice. The main findings of the study demonstrate the critical importance of effective public administration in promoting sustainable development, particularly in the context of global nutrition interventions and population growth. The case study highlights the need for coordinated and integrated policy approaches that engage a range of stakeholders, including government, civil society, and private sector actors. The study also highlights the importance of context-specific approaches that consider the unique characteristics and challenges of each country. The degree of novelty and originality of this research lies in its holistic and contextualized approach to exploring the role of public administration in promoting sustainable development. By using a case study approach, this research generates new insights and recommendations that can inform policy and practice in a practical and actionable way. The practical implications of this research are significant, as it provides a roadmap for policymakers and practitioners to effectively address the complex and multifaceted challenges posed by global nutrition interventions and population growth.

An economic phenomenon that is defined by the movement of industrial activity from developed to emerging nations has occurred during the past two decades. This technique may be seen as the huge firms' solution to the issue of production costs that were steadily growing along with rising living standards and compensation. This paper seeks to study outsourcing from the standpoint of its evolution as well as the benefits and drawbacks that come with it. On the other hand, this research essay aims to define the concept's foundations and explore its applicability to the public sector. Overall, research on outsourcing has shown that outsourcing can provide significant benefits in terms of cost savings, flexibility, and quality, but it also presents challenges in terms of managing relationships, maintaining control, and managing the human resources aspects of outsourcing. Companies need to carefully consider the potential benefits and risks of outsourcing before deciding whether to outsource specific functions or processes.

Purpose/objectives: What this article proposes is to make a presentation as clear and current as possible of the member states' taxation, direct and indirect taxation being the main categories to which we refer. The choice of the theme was motivated by our interest in discovering the effects of some decisions taken at the European level. It is desired to discover the way and the impact in which taxation influences economic growth in the European community. Design/methodology: Mix research technique has been used. While qualitative research entails in-depth literature readings and reports, quantitative analysis entails presenting data via graphs and tables. Findings: Taxation was and will remain a main component in the general economy that influences the good functioning of a system. Its effectiveness is conditioned by the legal regulations that each state designs individually, but not without the influence of the communities of which it is a part. For example, Romania was conditioned upon its entry into the European Union to modify its laws in order to be at the same level as the states in the Union. It is a laborious process that takes a long time and is constantly changing and improving. The process of designing and implementing these programs is tried to be carried out as easily as possible for each individual state, being individualized by economy, regional power, global impact, etc. The progress of each country entered in this sense is very important and is constantly monitored, and periodic reporting is very useful. Originality/value: The work is an original research work conducted by the researchers. The findings will add to the body of knowledge on the area of research funding in Romania. Possible practical implications: The completed project is addressed to those people who are interested in the fiscal side of an economy, especially understanding the process of economic growth, how difficult it is to reach a favorable situation at such a high level.. It can also represent a starting point for bachelor's, master's level studies, in order to broaden general knowledge, or even in-depth study for a final paper.

This paper presents and analyses the relevance of artificial intelligence for energy optimization companies and business internationalization, the mega-trended combination between digitalization and globalization impacts directly business internationalization. The methodology of research relied on a literature review and data analysis in quantitative qualitative way by focusing on a case study as well using bibliographic data from Scopus and operating the steps using VOSviewer to go further with research. The research question is” How relevant and connected or useful artificial intelligence for business internationalization, companies and energy optimization. The results show that embracing artificial intelligence could speed so far business operations and processes. Moreover, since the world is moving towards industry 5 and the economy of the future, artificial intelligence has become an important instrument for all the economic sector including energy that is related to business opportunities and companies' internationalization and operations, energy is a business as well since it is about supply and demand and it always needs optimization and AI has been useful for that taking the example of smart grids, smart cities and houses, AI for renewable energy (solar and wind), industry and electrical vehicles. In conclusion, business internationalization relies on the use of digitalization that connects business operations and relationships. AI is important for business internationalization, companies and energy optimization.

Investments, approached as a factor influencing the future, have an essential role in economic growth and development by stimulating the production process and by creating new, high-performing structures that are correlated with the specific needs of individuals and society. From the point of view of access to resources, but also of economic-social competition, economic development generates a higher level of performance, certified on the basis of qualitative and quantitative evaluation processes. In this context, the analysis system of investment projects must be based on operational principles and instruments with medium and long-term impact, capable of aligning with strategic visions. In this paper, based on the research carried out in the specialized literature and the analyzed studies regarding public investments, we identify the current challenges regarding the performance of public investment projects and propose a series of criteria for evaluating the performance of public investments and a sequence of stages to ensure the elimination of non-performing projects at the local, regional and national level. The results of the present research reveal the inadequate prioritization of public investments to ensure adequate sustainability and offer us the opportunity to develop new research directions in the following works in which we will analyze the impact that inadequate prioritization has on the sustainability of local, regional and national communities.

For EU countries, keeping and growing innovative business is vital in order to be globally competitive. Innovation in enterprises, as a cornerstone for future production, is of great significance for all countries depending more and more on services. Due to the way innovation is understood within enterprises, such process no longer is bound to single entity. It easily exceeds the sphere of one organisation rapidly evolving to an ecosystem of many actors and 3rd party suppliers and different shareholders across different countries. All these aspects reveal the link between business development, effective created value for the customers and the potential to innovate. The role of information technology both from operational perspective and in the development of innovative potential and new products is currently acknowledged both by enterprises and by small start-up companies. In such context, Eurostat introduced a new tool, “Innovation profiles”, to monitor enterprise innovation level. Thus, our paper explores such data analysing the similarities between 17 European countries. The source is Eurostat and latest data available from 2020, is used. The results of the Cluster Analysis performed in R Shiny app are obtained employing Pearson Correlation coefficient, measuring the Squared Euclidian distance, and the Ward linkage method. Positive moderate to low correlation is obtained in terms of innovation for the three obtained clusters, emphasizing the link between Romania, Poland, and Bulgaria.

The information paradigms defining contemporary society call for the character of plurivalence through their omnipresence in multiple areas of activity. Their ubiquitous character provides the basis of the accounting-computer science interdependence, the undeniable reality being marked by the computer indispensability in the professional accountant’s life. In this way, specialized literature becomes allencompassing by the approaches marked by complexity and density regarding the issues of modernizing the accounting by its massive computerization. The cloud accounting phenomenon is a component part of the innovative changes that accounting has undergone lately. The research paper aims to outline the bibliometric universe of the cloud accounting concept based on the methods, tools and techniques subscribed to bibliometrics in view of reflecting its representativeness through the lens of specialized literature. The results thus obtained consolidate the emblematic character of the cloud accounting issue in light of the massive interest manifested for its thoroughness and exploration equally by researchers, theoreticians, and practitioners. The study also stands out for its originality, being currently the only one dealing with issues of cloud accounting concept bibliometrics. The attribute of uniqueness of this paper is defined by shaping the research universe assigned to the phenomenon based on specialized literature, identifying the manner to reshape the profession and the field by changing the digital paradigm and illustrating the representativeness of technology in the academic community through the perspective of the bibliometrics tool. Likewise, an element of novelty is given by highlighting the definition of cloud accounting from the author’s perspective based on the image provided by the literature review.