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The energy sector is essential to a country's economy and social life. In recent years, the energy market in Romania has experienced a certain dynamism, influenced by multiple factors such as regional conflicts, national and EU energy legislation, liberalization of the energy market, and increasing demand for energy products. These factors determined a sharp increase in electricity, gas, and oil prices in Romania in recent years. Based on the above, the present study aims to analyze Romanian energy companies' financial performances and determine whether there is any correlation between their governance and their performance. In order to fulfill the research objectives, financial performance data were extracted and analyzed for a number of 43 energy companies in Romania, considering the financial statements prepared up to 31 December 2021. Using the scoring method, governance indices were determined for each company. Finally, using a linear regression model, we analyzed the correlation between governance and performance of the 43 companies. The results of the study indicate that there is a direct correlation of moderate intensity between the two variables, with the performance of energy companies being higher if they have implemented a governance system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

IT solutions have been transforming the world of work, albeit with varying intensity, for decades. They affect, among other things, the organisation of work, work structures, employment patterns and working time. Solutions such as artificial intelligence (AI), business intelligence (BI), robotic process automation (RPA), workflow, process mining, etc. are now a daily reality in the corporate sector, be it physical or mental work. However, the spread of digital solutions across organisations, spaces and sectors is uneven. Can the impact of this uneven spread be observed in employment, especially in atypical forms of employment? In our questionnaire research, we seek to establish how employees with tertiary education in two pairs of sectors (Hungarian and Romanian non-profit sectors and Hungarian non-profit and for-profit sectors) in two countries perceive some demographic characteristics of teleworking. In our research, we analysed the responses of Hungarian and Romanian working-age citizens with tertiary education who had been working in telework for at least one year at the time of completing the questionnaire. In addition to the deterioration of work relationships and the lack of personal contacts already shown by many studies, it is observed that the work-life balance is upset for single people and those without children, while the number of children does not influence opinions on teleworking. The differences observed and presented in the study are typically not gender-specific but largely based on globalised perspectives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Defined as the key engine of economic and social development in Europe, a combination of welfare and solidarity, the social economy reduces the risk of dependence on social services, improves living conditions and offers new perspectives to individuals. Through an in-depth analysis of articles related to this field, published in scientific journals in the last 5 years, we want to analyze the opportunities and risks of professional integration of the most socially disadvantaged groups in Romania, such as people with disabilities, people who they left school and the Roma ethnic group early, etc. Following the content analysis of the articles, we were able to identify a number of opportunities, such as: increasing the standard of living and reducing the risk of dependence on social benefits, economic security and job stability or reducing social stigma. At the same time, we highlighted a number of risks, such as the difficulties of obtaining financing and the management of their social enterprises so that they become economically efficient. This paper contributes to the broadening of knowledge about this economic model promoted in the EU and has the role of opening new possible directions of research. Secondly, the paper highlights a number of practical implications for the inclusion of vulnerable people in the labor market. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Partnership to achieve common goals is an example of social action. When it is geared towards achieving a high level of quality of life, it is a complex dynamic and therefore of interest to researchers. This study explores the associative phenomenon from the perspective of two dimensions (which define the quality-of-life paradigm), namely quality of society and lifestyles (according to Mărginean and Precupețu's vision, 2011), but also from the perspective of the community life and social participation dimension (as stated by Fahey et al., 2003). In addition to the theoretical approach on joining organizations for social involvement (in order to achieve a better life), the results of empirical research based on the administration of a questionnaire are presented. The empirical research highlights perceptions of action in society, the determinants of associational behavior oriented towards social involvement, the motivations behind the establishment of non-governmental organizations and their relation to the concern to improve the quality of life. The present study is one section of a larger ongoing research on motivations for setting up NGOs and the development of the non-profit sector. The topic is of interest in that, thirty years after freedom of association was achieved in Romania, the exploration of the motivations for setting up an NGO has been sporadic, the study showing current aspects of association for involvement in society. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The budget deficit is an important part of the state budget, being a tool for influencing the development of the economy and the social sphere. With its help, based on the budgetary mechanism, the state redistributes the national income, modifies the structure of social production, and achieves social transformations. The purpose of this article is to study the causes, the consequences, and the ways of financing the budget deficit from a theoretical point of view, as well as to analyze the evolution of the budget deficit in Romania based on statistical data from the period 2017-2021. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Social enterprises have been proved to be important actors in the regional development through market approaches to societal problems. The development of the social entrepreneurship sector in Romania was supported in a great measure by the European Social Fund (ESF), which granted funds within the "Development of social economy" calls for proposals in the period 2007-2014. These actions were taken before legislation regarding social entrepreneurship or social economy would come into force. The research presented in this paper is based on data provided by the Romanian authorities managing grants for the development of social enterprises and the Romanian Ministry of Public Finances. Data were further analysed, classified and transposed in visual maps. The correlations made with the GDP/development regions showed a lack of perspective regarding the distribution of funds depending on the development needs. The paper wishes to emphasize the importance of strategic planning in the European funds distribution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The social economy has developed out of the need to find new, innovative solutions to social, economic or environmental problems of communities and also to meet the needs of the community members which are insufficiently covered by the public or private sector. Over the years, the social economy has strengthened its position as an alternative form of economic development based on a set of socioeconomic values and principles that differ from both the market economy and from the universal welfare state: volunteering, democracy, non-profit purpose, professional development of the members and autonomy from the state. ES offers a model of business development based on the principles of equity, social responsibility and transparency, which encourages democratic participation in decision-making. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The unique originality of the tourist exchange is that it is not the product but the tourists who consume it that are subject to relocation from their place of permanent residence to the tourist destination. The tourist as consumer moves to the tourist "product" to take advantage of its integrated components - natural (landscapes, climate), material (services and equipment) and human (societies and civilizations, historical and socio-cultural landmarks). With the development of this process, complex relationships emerge between tourists and local community with reflections on economic and social life. And they require management in an organizational and functional way. The awareness in this regard is in fact, very important for the competitiveness of the tourist offer and has a significant effect on regional sustainability. It is in this direction that the present study aims to explore one of the aspects of the impact that is being discovered in connection with the implementation of cross-border projects funded under the EU Cross-Border Cooperation Program - Interreg A with regional orientation to the Romania-Bulgaria border area. The focus is on identifying the manifestations of sustainability as a consequence of indirect investment in tourism and on outlining and taking concrete action as a result of the implemented projects. It is also defined by the presumption, that effects on regional economies and social characteristics should be high while respecting the sustainability of project results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Corporate governance, comprising an environment of confidence, integrity, ethical values and trust, respectively a synergic exertion of all the actors involved, has become a pivotal concept, vital to most companies. Corporate governance in Romania advanced from the centralized model in the early 1990s, to the market economy-based model, concerning not only the respect for the rule of law, but also social economy and inclusive sustainability. This paper proposes a theoretical approach of the corporate governance framework in Romania. The research establishes the importance of good practices for ensuring effective corporate governance, the results pointing out some pitches for improving the Romanian legal framework in the corporate governance field, as well as provide a useful standpoint in comprehending the complex conversion of legislation and research, thus developing the existing literature on accounting and corporate finance. Finally, specific areas for future research in relation to corporate governance in Romania are suggested. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we will analyse the opportunity of developing a cooperation between the business community and the public sector, from an economic intelligence perspective, aiming to improve the economic security of Romania. The research question we try to answer is "How can Romanian companies and the national intelligence services cooperate, in order to improve our economic security"? Taking into consideration the various threats to the economic security of our country, in this paper we choose to briefly analyse the existing relationships between competitive and economic intelligence, as well as the concrete ways in which private companies and public intelligence services can cooperate, in order to counter the economic and/or industrial espionage. We believe that our approach can pave the way for further research that will contribute to the formulation of useful recommendations, for both Romanian companies and the public sector. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objective of this paper is to present the situation of the social economy in Romania. Through this work, we want to emphasize the role that non-reimbursable European funds have in the development of the social economy in Romania, by making a comparison between the state of social economy before the funding period of 2007 to 2013, the state of social economy after the funding period of 2007 to 2013, the difference been made by the results of the European funding for this section. It is based on the annual reports provided by Ministry of European Funds for Sectoral Operational Programme Human Resources Development 2007-2013, along with recent publications presenting the investigated topic. For the funding period of 2007 to 2013, the data have been processed into the following indicators: social economy structures created, people qualified or requalified in programs for vulnerable groups and the number of jobs created. After the implementation period of 2007 to 2013, the social economy sector has been improved by the foundation of approximately 1,400 social economy structures, by the qualification or requalification of over 130,000 vulnerable people and by creating over 12,000 jobs in the founded structures. As a conclusion, we consider that after the funding period of 2007 to 2013, the significant steps have been made, but the improvements still need to be made in approaching the people belonging to vulnerable groups, helping them fill the gaps that separate them from the majority population in terms of education, work culture and skills required on the labour market. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent efforts of the European Union to integrate new member states such as Romania expand to the social economy sector as well. Works by Hoogendoorn et al. (2010) and Kerlin (2010) regard Europe as accommodating two schools of thought related to social entrepreneurship: EMES and the UK - social enterprise. Both views place great emphasis on social enterprise as the main indicator of the social entrepreneurial phenomena for the European continent. Using both qualitative and quantitative research methods, we attempt to answer the following question: Which forms of Romanian social economy organisations correspond theoretically and empirically to the EMES social enterprise criteria? The findings show that there are two types of organisations in Romania (sheltered workshops and enterprises set up by associations and foundation) that fulfil the EMES criteria to the largest extent. They are generally between 5 and 10 years old and are active in agriculture, trade and education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

At the European Union level, there is a great interest in social entrepreneurship and social economy, which are correlated with a more efficient market competition, with the encouraging of solidarity and cohesion, with a high degree of flexibility and innovation that allows a rapid adaptation to the changing social and economic context. The issue of social entrepreneurship became more and more important as the financial and economic crisis evolved and brought to surface the necessity to foster not only economic development but also social inclusion. In Romania, social entrepreneurship is in its emerging phase, the non-profit sector being the major actor in this area. Through an exploratory research based on secondary sources, we aimed to identify the perspectives and the main initiatives and practices in social entrepreneurship area in Romania. The analysis focuses on the non-profit and for-profit sector, the academic area and the institutional and legislative framework. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Remarkable figure of the Romanian socio-economic life, Nicolae Ghiulea was one of the most important representatives of the cooperative doctrine in the interwar period. Prestigious professor at the University of Cluj, he distinguished himself by a rich publishing activity in the areas of statistical theory, social economy, cooperatism and sociology. When capitalism and for-profit organizations started showing their limits, there was an urgent need for alternatives. Fervent supporter and active propagandist of the association idea, Ghiulea believed the cooperative enterprise was the opportune form of labour organization capable of solving the social issues of his times. This article sets out to present the cooperative doctrine, with its history, principles, manifestation forms, particularities and drawbacks, as methodized by the Romanian professor. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Social economy represents the third sector of the economy being the intermediate domain between the private sector and the public sector. There are differences between the three sectors, so from the point of view of the aims pursued, the targeting criteria of success, of how making decisions as well as in terms of sources of funding. Thus, this sector has grown from the need to find the necessary solutions to some problems of social, economic or environmental community as well as meeting the needs of the community was comprised of image are ignored or insufficient services covered by public or private sector. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In Romania, the term of social economy is rather new and almost unknown for the public at large, and the legal framework contains only regulations specific for different types of entities which perform activities or which generate effects that may be considered as partial forms of social economy. This paper reviews the recent literature which approached mostly the problems of conceptualization and definition of the social economy, both at the national and European level. The paper also proposes an evaluation of the social economy sector in Romania in terms of its development capacity on medium-term. The paper reviews scientific contributions from Romania and abroad, reports of public or private institutions, and development policies. All these documents are used to develop a theoretical framework of the social economy and to describe the social economy as a sector of activity within the European Union and Romania, taking into consideration several criteria. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper presents the context in which social economy appeared as a topic of interest and a priority on the public agenda in different countries around the world and the incipient stages in which it exists in Romania, especially with respect to development and legislation in the field. Despite the fact that social economy in Romania is not a priority for the development, several private initiatives have begun to take shape and to create patterns for compensating the need for financing of the social sector and especially for creating workplaces for deprived categories. We hope that these patterns, constituted and financed especially through the European Social Fund, will constitute the practical and professional experience necessary for creating a correct and "friendly" legislative frame for the sector. Considering the economical, social and political crisis that Romania is going through, we need more than ever that social economy becomes a topic for discussion on the public agenda. There is urgent need for a national strategy in the field, a coherent legislative framework allowing sustained and durable development through fiscal benefits; social economy needs to be financed / subsidized by local authorities, it needs to allow access to public agreements and to be the object of the public - private partnership. There are samples of best practices, but they need to be supported and replicated in order to create as many chances as possible in the process of insertion, especially for creating workplaces for deprived categories of people. The "Alături de Voi" Romania Foundation developed such a pattern in its centers in Iasi, Constanta and Tg. Mureş. The foundation's activity in the field of social economy can be viewed on the online store www.utildeco.ro. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present article makes an analysis of cooperatives in Romania in terms of their role in the context of socio-economic development of society by generating new jobs and social integration, by eradicating poverty and by inclusion of vulnerable groups and categories. Since the cooperative phenomenon has become a highly visible and present one in the European and Romanian public life, through this paper we want to answer a series of questions related to the occurrence and evolution of cooperatives at national and international level, the approaches to this phenomenon which have emerged at European level and which are the regulations governing their organization and operation in the Romanian space. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The "Europe 2020 for an intelligent, echological, favourable-to-the-inclusion increase" strategy represents the joint direction of the member states towards active measures for the promotion of professional insertion, for creating and keeping work places and reducing the unemployment. In this context, the social economy represents one of the most spread solutions for the labour market challenges, offering an alternative model of the social inclusion of vulnerable groups and an alternative model of business based on the principles of equity and social responsibility in the decision-making process. The current paper focuses on presenting the concept of social economy in our country in the context of the existing legislation, the general framework of organization and functioning of the organisms which perform social economic activities, the mechanism of support and encouragement, as well as the financing sources that these organisms benefit from. A separate chapter will focus on the situation which exists in the Suceava County as regards the development of social services and the inclusion on the labour market, with their respective forms of social economy. The paper ends with some conclusions and recommendations for the supporting the development of social enterprises in Romania, having as starting point the difficulties met by these ones and also focusing on the results obtained. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The need to develop a strategic project of intervention in the area of social protection of children is based on the identification of the specific difficulties of this social category. In this project we develop a series of specific strategies regarding the cases of children coming from underprivileged backgrounds. The aim of the study is the understanding of specific priorities in terms of social policies applicable to the area of interest. We have considered the following categories of children: children from families with educational or material problems, children discriminated at school or based on race, other categories. Social intervention strategies are a necessity in contemporary Romanian society. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present article addresses a topic of interest for both the public sector and the nonprofit sector, namely that of the innovative practices of social economy. Diverse practices and models of social economy are increasingly present in the Romanian community, this being the reason why it is important to study the major coordinates of social economy and social entrepreneurship identified by means of an empirical research done in Romania. Social economy is considered one of the most important innovative strategy approaches as this sector may contribute to some efforts done for the elimination of poverty and the re-launching of local economies. The integration of the identified elements in regional programs and public policies is the starting point of the strategic approaches regarding reform in public administration. Social economy can be an example of joint action for public and private organizations and institutions interested in carrying out community projects based on inclusive, participative and innovative forms of community development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Starting from the premise that, under the circumstances of the present economic crisis, the understanding and capitalization of social economy are essential, the hereby paper attempts at emphasizing the need of developing this field, mainly owing to its capacity of creating and providing jobs. Relying on the hypothesis according to which social economy has strengthened its position of alternative form of economic development founded upon social and economic values and principles (volunteering, democracy, non-patrimonial goals, professional development of its members, and autonomy before the State), we consider that this field both displays a manner of developing businesses according to the principles of social equity and responsibility and represents an important source of jobs and a significant contributor to the GDP. At the same time, we should notice the fact that the forms of social economy play an important part in settling economic and social issues, providing a range of activities and services whose demand is not always properly covered by private or public entities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]