The millennials constitute an important group of consumers. Therefore, to know how they behave has become an important issue. This paper aims to explain who the millennials are, to explain who belongs to this generational group and why they have become an attractive group for different social and economic sectors, by showing the most outstanding attitudes, tastes and buying behaviors. This is a qualitative and transactional research based on the review of various scientific articles retrieved from specialized journals which have helped to establish a characterization of the most prominent elements that describe the millennials, based on some points of coincidence described by different authors. The findings suggest that millennials are a highly attractive market as they have grown up in an environment where technology provides a platform for personalization and immediate gratification in all aspects of life. Consequently, the buying process for them is a time of enjoyment, where loyalty to the brands they purchase is relative. Also, millennials tend to spend their income quickly and more often through the web, and particularly through social networks like Facebook. Also, the results show that the millennials are more attracted by virtual advertising as coupons or discounts. The results contribute to the literature by providing a description of millennial consumers; showing in detailed the importance of this market segment and their buying behaviors.

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Purpose -The purpose of this study is to explore the incidence between the actions to be taken by business promoters and the degree or level of success in creating new businesses. Design/methodology/approach -The paper matches data from market research based on a questionnaire sent to Spanish startups (years 2006-2010). The paper uses a methodology that is based on the "forgotten effects model". Findings -Results show the elements that make up the target objectives are financing needs, marketing actions, continued innovation, and efforts in the areas of internationalization and sustainability. Originality/value -Using the forgotten effects model approach, this research tries to analyze the role that entrepreneurship actions play in the success of a project's objectives, taking into account not only the direct effects but also the indirect objectives.

Corporate and organizational performance assessment is an important activity for both the managers and other stakeholders, as it provides them with an asset to evaluate their own strengths and weaknesses in relation to the competition, as well as guidelines for selecting appropriate measures to address the existing problems. The issue of criteria selection has been overcome through the literature review and the issue of criteria weights is handled by applying group decision making procedure. The procedure itself consists of using predefined linguistic expressions that are modelled by triangular fuzzy numbers and the aggregation of decision makers' opinion based on the rules of rough sets algebra. The values of the decision matrix are determined by prognosis method and they are described by crisp values. The proposed algorithm is tested on the insurance companies that operate in the Republic of Serbia.

The aim of this work is to analyze and improve the SWOT technique, considered one of the most classic analytical techniques in the field of strategy. The findings show how an instrument of fuzzy logic can measure the degree of strength of factors that correspond to the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats which correspond to a particular sector: in this case, that of the pharmaceutical sector of Paraguay. Its originality consists of working with Expertons, an instrument which maintains the information of all studied experts intact in order to obtain a better result. From this, a model which captures and measures the level of importance of each of the SWOT factors is developed. Future research are suggested which integrate Fuzzy-SWOT and Fuzzy-Delphi to work with classic fuzzy numbers, triangular fuzzy numbers, and trapezoidal fuzzy numbers in order to obtain a more complete and complex Fuzzy-SWOT model which better reflects reality. Keywords: fuzzy logic, SWOT, theory of expertons, strategic marketing.

PurposeThe objective of this paper is to analyze the relationship between innovation and the development of artificial intelligence (AI) and digital technologies in Europe. The use of digital technologies among European companies is studied through a composite index, while the relationship between innovation and AI is studied through a log-linear regression model. The results of the model have made possible to develop interesting indications for economic and industrial policy.Design/methodology/approachThe use of digital technologies among European companies is studied through a composite index of AI and information technology (ICT) (using the Fair and Sustainable Welfare methodology) with the aim of measuring territorial gaps and to know which European countries are more or less inclined to its use, while the relationship between innovation and AI is studied through a log-linear regression model.FindingsIn the paper, two different methodologies were used to analyze the relationship between innovation and the development of digital technologies in Europe. The synthetic indicator made possible to develop a taxonomy between the different countries, the log-linear model made possible to identify and explain the determinants of innovation.Originality/valueThe description of the biunivocal relationship between innovation and AI is a topical and relevant issue that is treated in the paper in an original way using a synthetic indicator and a log-linear model.

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As the only constant in business is change, business transformation is essential for adopting new perspectives and business trends. One of the keys to performing successful business transformation is to be fully aware of the current components of the business model. This research aims to allocate the business model components (BMCs) to defined business model components groups (BMCGs) by developing a new approach that integrates fuzzy sets and heuristic algorithms. The allocation results enable a comprehensive analysis of business model frameworks and give a good connection to research in the domain of strategic management and business process modeling. For allocation, the decision-makers (DMs) are employing the linguistic terms modeled by the fuzzy sets theory. The considered problem is stated as an integer programming model where the optimal solution is given by a B&B algorithm. The model is tested on a sample of forty experts from four different economic sectors.