Search

The European Union introduced Regulation No. 1151/2012 to delineate the optional quality term "mountain product," aiming to preserve and promote the originality and authenticity of mountain foodstuffs. This research endeavors to delve into the comprehension and perception of the mountain label, considering awareness of the label and willingness to pay. With the remarkable increase in the adoption of the mountain label among producers in the mountain regions of Romania, this study seeks to investigate whether consumers purchasing the product in the market are cognizant of the provisions outlined by the National regulatory bodies and authorities for the mountain label. A general consumer survey with questionnaires was planned, organised, and implemented within Brașov city to elicit necessary findings. Although, the consumer was aware regarding the benefits associated with products with mountain label and also the places to easily find the mountain label, the consumers (50.77%) perceived mountain labelled product to be expensive. Similarly, only 47% of the respondents were interested in paying more for the products with mountain labels and 50% were completely unsure about their purchasing decisions, which indicates a clear unsurety in the mind of the consumers. The consumers (70%) seemed unaware about the mountain label although they had general idea regarding mountain products and the categories of products that are made available in the market verified by the agencies. The findings of this research can be beneficial to initiate different promotional campaigns launched at consumers to better educate them regarding mountain labels and to avoid misleading the consumer with any use of terms related with mountains and assist in overall mountain sustainability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mountain products have been introduced in the EU supplemented with governing regulations to mainstream the products originating from mountain areas with adequate market facilities and use as a differentiating tool compared with conventional products. Since its formalisation and adoption of relevant laws in the national context in Romania, the adoption of the optional quality term Mountain Label among the producers has been astonishing. Considering the good market in Romania for quality and locally sourced products, mountain labels and their use among the producers were regarded as having a better impact on the economic and market status. The research intended to pursue an answer in the same direction to see if producers were able to fully exploit the EU optional quality term Mountain Label scheme at the national level in Romania or if there was dissatisfaction among the producers with the rules of utilizing the label. A general producer survey with questionnaires was planned, organized, and implemented on the three mountain massifs surrounding Brașov city to elicit the necessary findings. Due to continuous support from the relevant authorities in the registration of the label, the producers were interested in enlisting themselves in the quality scheme; however, poor marketing and promotional assistance were some of the problems identified as general problems that caused the producers to be disappointed in the labelling scheme. Although most of the producers had a good idea of the benefits associated with the label, only 50% of them were engaged in some way in highlighting the mountain label in their promotional activities. Different statistical tests like the U-test, correlation analysis, and chi-square tests were used in conjunction with the different findings visualisations to derive insightful findings. The findings of the research can be beneficial to comprehend existing scenarios of mountain labels and producers' perceptions of mountain labels post-registration, propose different systematic reformations for better efficiency of operations of mountain labels, and realize its initial objectives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The entrepreneurial behavior of individuals is a result of a complex assembly of factors, and education is one of them. The article is aiming to address the scientific gap in the relation between education and the intention and attitudes in entrepreneurship by focusing on the analysis of the economic and entrepreneurial background as a determinant factor. Besides that, the study looked for the factors that influence entrepreneurial intention and intended to find out if there are significant differences between economic and non-economic backgrounds and entrepreneurial intentions of individuals. A survey with 582 validated respondents was employed in the north-west and the west part of Romania to determine the entrepreneurial intention of the residents. For investigating the results, descriptive statistics were used to analyze the socio-demographic characteristics of the respondents, and principal component analysis with varimax rotation was conducted to reduce the number of items used to analyze the entrepreneurial intention of the respondents. The study demonstrated the significance of entrepreneurial education for entrepreneurs and the entrepreneurial process: the higher variance is given by entrepreneurial intention (58.75%) for those with economic studies and by entrepreneurial capacity (58.39%) for those without economic studies. It concludes that entrepreneurial education policies should concentrate on the increase of opportunities for entrepreneurs and on creating a culture of entrepreneurship. Regression analysis revealed that entrepreneurial capacity, personal attraction, social valuation, and entrepreneurial education/economic background significantly predict entrepreneurial intention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The recent pandemic, as well as sustainability issues have led to changing trends when it comes food purchasing and consumption. Thus, more and more consumers tend to pay more attention to how the food is produced, processed, handled and marketed. Over the past few years, the organic food market has experienced a notable surge in popularity. This study seeks to examine the factors and obstacles shaping the consumption of organic products. Additionally, it aims to explore the socio-demographic traits of consumers in this category and identify the primary types of preferred organic products. The study's convenience sample of 214 customers from Romania's Bihor County served as the basis for data collection, which was done online. The results of our study show that the confidence that a product is organic ranked first among all factors on the consumer's list, followed by a price similar to normal food products and certification by a control body. Organic vegetables, fruits, and eggs were among the most preferred products by the consumers, while processed and canned goods ranked lower on the preferences list for the respondents. Concerning obstacles to organic food consumption, the main concern is related to the additional cost that consumers have to cover relative to other food items. Additionally, half of the respondents who abstain from organic product consumption expressed a lack of belief in organic certification. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The terms rural tourism and agritourism can be considered synonymous, but there are differences even though they share certain identifying elements. Agritourism appeared as a solution to in-crease the income of rural households, by capitalizing on their economic potential, however the main activity remained agriculture. The main purpose of this research is to evaluate the situation of agritourism in Romania approached from different perspectives such as: rural development, traditional products, and landscape integrations. The methodology used in this study is a systematic literature review where the search process was carried out using keywords such as: "Agritourism in Romania" or "Rural development in Romania" or "Integration of the rural landscape in Romania". The research was conducted and filtered through the Prisma guidelines in 30 papers that were highlighted in the Results section. In concluding this research paper, we would like to say that there are many factors that should be considered to find a viable solution to help develop rural communities and simultaneously safeguarding the environment and using natural resources responsibly. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Estimating the efficiency of the investments that generate public benefits is not an easy task, as there are various methods proposed for evaluating the value of public goods and services. The novelty of the study consists of the proposed cost–benefit methodology adapted to a real-value cost concept for estimating the efficiency of the investment in the hydrographic Fâncel watershed, in the center of Romania, using a set of five indicators. The results prove that an investment of RON 1,323,226.29, at the value of 2018, would be paid in 5 years, 0 months, and 15 days. The estimated income is RON 505,327.8/year, so at a 5% financial-discount rate and an estimated period of use of 30 years, the net present value is RON 5,612,730.67. The internal rate of return was calculated as 22%, whereas the value of the savings-to-investment ratio is 3.6%. The main findings of the analysis of the economic-efficiency indicators offer a synthetic and relevant image of the fact that the investment has proven to be effective under the analyzed conditions. The results offer arguments to assume that the decision to consider that particular investment a good practice is fulfilled. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Considering the huge economic and social disparities between urban and rural areas of Romania, it is important to investigate the local community perception on the perceived impact of the rural development strategies, provided that local strategies should be developed based on citizens’ needs. The study represents a first step towards a more complex research to evaluate the degree of satisfaction and wellbeing of the rural communities from Cluj County, following the implementation of the rural development programs. The research was conducted on the basis of primary data obtained from citizens of Cuzdrioara, a commune from Cluj County which represents a particular case, as its position allows the direct connection to national roads. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and inferential statistics. The Chi-square test and Fisher's exact test were performed for comparisons of proportions, while Mann-Whitney test and Kruskal Wallis test were used for the comparisons of scale scores between respondents. Through the objectives of the Local Development Strategy, Cuzdrioara commune aims to improve the way of life of the inhabitants by achieving the objectives proposed in the strategy. Many projects have been completed, being positively assessed by the citizens. The public administration fulfilled the objectives established in the Local Development Strategy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nowadays the training courses represent a real problem, and more and more people are interested in improving or developing new skills in order to improve their professional status. This article examines the factors that influence the quality of the training courses held by FAER organization. The training courses are addressed to the future entrepreneurs. The courses were related to various fields: management, marketing, finance and other economic subjects. Due to the basic characteristics of the services it is difficult to evaluate the quality of this kind of activity. To achieve the purpose of the paper a survey was conducted using the SERVQUAL method. The total number of respondents that participated in this survey was 194. The results reveal the fact that the training courses did not achieve the expectations of the participants and the main problems which were indicated are related to the schedule and the ability of the professors to communicate and make the participants feel comfortable during the classes. To increase the quality of these courses it is recomanded to pay attention also to the relation between the lectures and the praticipants, not only to the quantity and the quality of the provided material. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to success in any business an important factor is considered to be the quality of the services delivered to customers. The paper presents the tourists' satisfaction with respect to the services offered by the rural guesthouses. Lodging represents an important part of the holiday. According to the available legislation of Romania there are more than 10 different types of accommodation facilities which can be certificated to assure the tourists' services. Hitherto in Romania the certification of accommodation facilities is due only based on the technical characteristics. For the main objective of the paper a survey was conducted in 2 flowers and 3 flowers rural guesthouses. The respondents were asked to evaluate the quality of the services by using the SERVQUAL model. The quality of the services offered by the rural guesthouses did not meet the tourists' expectations for none of the comfort categories. For future research it is recommended to conduct a similar study at the nation level to determine if only the technical characteristics are enough or not to certificate an accommodation unit. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents the particularities of the supply and demand in Vatra Dornei SPA resort, which is located in the North-East part of Romania, in Suceava County. In order to face the new challenges of the market the supply needs to adapt to the new trend. This is not possible without knowing the tourists profile. In the first part of the paper is presented the literature review about the importance and the trends regarding the deveplemnt of the health and wellness tourism. The paper continues with the description of the analyzed area and the research methods used. The research method used was the survey and the main indicators used to analyze the demand and supply were: number of tourists, overnights stay, average length of stay, number of accommodation facilities and the occupancy rate. In order to achieve the purpose of the present paper a study was conducted in Vatra Dornei in the period July-August 2011. The statistical data about the supply were analyzed and debated and a survey was conducted on 150 tourists. The results show that the supply still needs to be adapted to the tourists profile and to the national thermal tourism development strategy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper describes the steps of estimating the recreation value of a national park by combining two non-market valuation methods: the Travel Cost Method and the Contingent Valuation Method. The questionnaire was designed according to both methods by formulating specific questions. The survey was implemented in Piatra Craiului National Park during the summer of 2011, one of the most visited national parks from Romania. The recreation value in terms of consumer surplus per trip is derived from the Poisson model and in terms of willingness to pay per trip from the random effects probit model. It was found that tourists gain significant benefits from recreating in the park. The estimated recreation values are expressed in monetary units and provide justification for attracting funds for developing tourism opportunities in a sustainable way. Moreover, the findings show that tourists are aware of the value of the park and do appreciate the opportunities offered by the park administrations. However, the process of revealing the benefits people gain after visiting the park should receive more attention from the decision makers when developing the management plans. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents the particularities of participants' profile to trainings. The research was conducted in April 2012 in four counties of Romania: Arges, Bistrita-Nasaud, Mures and Suceava. The research method was de survey based on questionnaire. The sample size was of 194 respondents. The study revealed that the participants in training are mainly female, with high education level and low income. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Practice has proved that efficient management actions occur only where decisions are taken based on relevant and reliable information about the respective protected area and the potential user groups. The last refers to the visitors of the protected areas, which express an increased interest in spending the leisure time in such areas and practicing different recreation activities. Thus, the profile of tourists is one of the main key elements in the decision processes regarding the management of tourism in the national and natural parks. This information is valuable for at least two reasons. First, this type of information should be considered when developing recreation facilities or maintaining attractive services for tourists because it may respond to their needs. Second, it is important for imposing use restrictions where necessary and if uncontrolled behavior is noticed. Data were collected during the summer of 2011 using an in-person questionnaire. Tourists were approached while they were recreating in the Romanian national and natural parks. The descriptive statistics analysis was conducted to create the profile of tourists. The trip characteristics were analyzed along with the socio-demographic characteristics, thus offering a detailed understanding of tourists' behavior during the recreation trips. Overall, results indicate that some characteristics differ among the groups of visitors. It remains the park managers' task to find solutions on how to adapt the recreation facilities and services to tourists' needs, definitely by imposing some restrictions that assure the preservation of the natural resources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents the results of a research conducted in the Tarnava Mare Region by setting up an original tool based on QUALITEST and SERVQUAL methods, having as main objective to determine the quality of the region as a tourist destination. The working method used was a social survey based on questionnaire. Research carried out revealed that tourist services in general and of the tourist guesthouses, in particular, are difficult to quantify in terms of quality, being based mainly on emotional impressions. Because of that, a continuous adaptation of research instruments is needed in order to determine the most valuable future directions for the development of the region in terms of tourism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research is a first step for estimating the main characteristics of the visitors from the Tarnava Mare Region. For assuring and for offering a high quality level of tourist services, as a competitive advantage for investors (in term of increasing the number of tourists and, implicitly, the turnover and profit), the profile of the visitors must be was studied using a direct survey by implementing a questionnaire using QUALITEST and SERVQUAL instruments, for observing the expected qualitative level of tourist destination. The research offers valuable information for determining relevant conclusions that can be used a fundament for diversifying and adapting the tourist offers as an important element for increasing the attractiveness of tourist destination. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the last decades, an increased interest has been expressed by researchers from worldwide towards studies about economic valuation of protected areas given that environmental public goods are not always traded on a market. Economists have struggled with this subject for decades and have developed several methods to estimate the economic values of these goods, known as non-market valuation methods. This paper reviews and presents a brief analysis of the most popular techniques as applied to natural areas, which are compared after grouping the research steps in five common steps for a consistent comparative analysis. Moreover, renowned studies conducted worldwide are revealed for each of the methods. A special interest has been noticed towards the estimation of welfare measures, such as Willingness To Pay (WTP) and consumer surplus, and towards differentiating user groups, as well as introducing several factors that may influence the decision to visit the natural areas. The case of Romanian national and natural parks is discussed in detail with the purpose to emphasize the need to continue the research in the field. The unique character of each of the studied parks, marked by geographic and cultural aspects, was confirmed through statistic analyses and thus welfare measures were determined for each park separately. The performed analyses proved that the methods have applicability in Romania as well. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Food consumption behavior during the COVID-19 pandemic has changed worldwide as a consequence of the restrictions imposed by law and/or due to the fear of contamination. Although some similarities are found among countries, there are still many particularities for each nation. The present study focused on Romanian consumers and their consumption behavior related to four main food categories: fruits and vegetables, meat and meat products, bread and bakery products, and milk and milk products. Frequency of buying, shopping habits, place of purchase, and concerns related to the place of purchasing food products during the COVID-19 pandemic were analyzed in comparison with the pre-COVID-19 period using descriptive statistics and inferential statistics regarding an online survey. Three types of behavior were identified as being related to the frequency of buying and to organizing a shopping list (less often, no change, more often). Two groups of consumers were identified as being related to the place of purchasing food: people with the same habits and people with new habits. Concerns related to the location of the stores and to the choice of buying directly from producers were also investigated using the ordered logistic regression. The empirical study revealed the new consumption patterns with a reflection on future trends. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The COVID-19 pandemic affected consumers' behavior worldwide. This paper aims to analyze consumers' sustainable food behavior during the COVID-19 pandemic. The research was based on an online survey during May–October 2020 among 859 Romanian consumers. Principal component analysis and cluster analysis were employed to group the consumers based on their behavior. Furthermore, the binary-logistic regression was used to identify the socio-demographic profile of the identified groups. Based on the cluster analysis, the consumers were grouped into three main groups: indifferent, pro-environment protection, and health concerned. The results indicate a positive attitude towards sustainable food behavior. Consumers' attitude towards sustainable food choice is mainly influenced by age and education level. The study offers valuable information for future public policy and marketing campaign regarding sustainable food behavior. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) proposes environmental policies developed around action-based conservation measures supported by agri-environment schemes (AES). High Nature Value (HNV) farming represents a combination of low-intensity and mosaic practices mostly developed in agricultural marginalized rural areas which sustain rich biodiversity. Being threatened by intensification and abandonment, such farming practices were supported in the last CAP periods by targeted AES. This study aims to identify the most important farming trends in a recognized HNV grasslands Romanian site, subject to public conservation actions. The content analysis of multi-actor focus groups transcripts identifies innovation needs for alternative sustainable HNV farming systems, assessing also the most important barriers for their local deployment. Results show that stakeholders have strong awareness about the existence of HNV farming practices in their territory and their negative trends (abandonment; intensification) that might irreversibly affect biodiversity and cultural values. Current AES could not compensate for the existing innovation gaps. Although local stakeholders have basic awareness about alternative innovative approaches, they failed in their deployment mainly due to the lack of collective actions. Access to adapted knowledge reservoirs and the promotion of local innovation catalyzers are essential for the future sustainability of HNV farming practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Organic farming has become an important alternative to conventional farming, mostly because of environmental sustainability issues, and has long-term positive benefits over soil, water, air and climate change, biodiversity, prohibiting the use of genetically modified organisms, and encouraging the development of ecological services. In Romania, the organic food market follows a positive trend, although the consumption rate is still very low compared to the European Union; therefore, it is necessary to identify the main barriers in consumption but also the factors influencing the increase in demand for this category of food products. In order to accomplish these objectives, a survey based on a questionnaire was conducted in the North-West Development Region of Romania, the second most important Romanian region from an economic development perspective. Five hundred and sixty-eight questionnaires were distributed in 2016. The collected data were danalyzed using descriptive statistics and principal component analysis. The results indicated that the most important barrier in consumption was price, followed by perishability and availability. High prices, mistrust, and lack of proper promotion for organic food are the influencing factors for organic food. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents the perceived quality of tourist services from Tarnava Mare. The main objective of the research was to evaluate the quality of the rural guesthouses by using the SERVQUAL method. The SERVQUAL method permitted to develop e new research instrument adapted to the type of analyzed services (rural tourism accommodation facilities). The survey was made during the period august 2010-april 2011. The analysis of the 22 statements revealed that the main problem of the accommodation guesthouses was related to their availability of solving the tourists' demands, even if the other aspects related to the staff behavior was evaluated positive. The problems are mainly due to the fact that the owners are those which assure the services' delivery, and in most of the cases the tourists' activity represents a complementary activity. As solutions for all these negative aspects can be mention participation to trainings, hire qualified staff. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Organic products have grown ever more popular in recent years due to increased concerns regarding one's health, the environment, and sustainability. The COVID-19 pandemic has only accelerated this growth, prompting producers to adapt to a rapidly growing market while maintaining the same standard of quality. We have conducted a questionnaire-based pilot study on 190 organic food consumers from Bihor county, Romania, in order to analyze the main factors influencing customers' beliefs regarding organic food consumption, as well as assess the extent to which their consumption frequency changed after the pandemic. A principal component analysis was performed, dividing the factors into two categories referring to intrinsic and extrinsic characteristics of the products, respectively. It was noticed that the most important cues were ranked the same by our 190 respondents, regardless of their socio-demographical background. At the same time, people who consumed organic products more frequently before the pandemic have either maintained or increased their consumption, while more indifferent consumers maintained or decreased the proportion of organic foods in their diet.

In the context of a spectacular growth of the Romanian restaurant market, it has become a necessity for managers to analyze the decision-making process related to restaurant selection toward obtaining a competitive advantage, which can be achieved through better segmentation and adequate targeting. The main objectives involved the identification of the main factors that influence restaurant selection by evaluating the role that health concerns play in this process and identifying consumers' restaurant profiles. A survey was conducted using face-to-face interviews as the contact method, in order to identify the main factors considered important for consumers in the city of Cluj-Napoca in the decision-making process related to restaurant selection. Principal component analysis (PCA) was conducted to group the attributes. The non-hierarchical cluster analysis through the use of the k-means method was used to define different groups within the sample and identify common features. Results suggest that the analyzed restaurant market is dominated by three segments of consumers, of which the largest is represented by "health seekers": a group of young women with medium and low incomes. As such, the possibility of consuming healthy meals within a restaurant is the most important factor for them during the decision-making process for restaurant selection. The present study has important managerial implications. Restaurant managers should admit that this process represents the starting point in designing restaurant concepts, as this type of information is fundamental for management decisions. On the other hand, the study offers important information regarding consumer perception of food, which has recently changed significantly, especially in the segment of young consumers to whom health is very important.