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If in the past, the success of innovation was measured primarily in the economic sphere, recently the non-economic sphere has increasingly become more of a matter of corporate management and, therefore, of innovation management. Management's acquisition of non-economic aspects has been strongly influenced by the vision of sustainable development. Sustainability is a direction of action important for innovation as well, integrating economic, social, and environmental responsibility in the management of innovation, leading to sustainability-oriented innovation (SOI). Research on SOI approached innovation processes has been carried out in large companies, however in recent years the use of TRIZ (teoriya resheniya izobretatelskikh zadach) tools has been tried for SOI. The TRIZ-based approach is a valuable tool because it does not require an encyclopedic knowledge of field-specific technology and it enables the expansion of the scope of problem solutions beyond the skills of the team members. This paper discusses the concepts of sustainability, innovation, and risk management in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) for the purpose of developing a flow chart for the implementation of the TRIZ method in SMEs and for evaluating the state of innovation in such companies. Through the use of the TRIZ method in the field of SMEs, fast and efficient processes, products, and sustainable services have been obtained.

The globalization and the development of the economy as a process enable the creation of a single market and in this process logistics is an important tool. A market with well-organized logistics and supply chain management facilities has a qualified advantage over other economies, whereas improving logistics infrastructure may serve as a competitive tool and is also effective in rising market share. More than a few studies show that the small and medium sized enterprises (SME) are working on these improvements. Moreover, we believe that trade logistics and supply chain management are needed by emerging countries in order to improve their competitiveness as by obtaining the advantages of globalization they will be able to address shortage issues more efficiently in the entire world. The success in combining international supply chains starts with the capability of companies to move goods across borders faster, in a more consistent manner and cheaper. The Romanian economy aims to join worldwide trends and development, rather than successively joining the Romanian market to the European one and then towards the world market. This paper aims to investigate how logistics can be considered as a tool for developing the activity of small and medium sized Romanian enterprises that in turn will enhance the good organization of the business and create an additional business chance.

The labor market in Romania is characterized by a strong contradiction: the population complains that there are not enough jobs, and the firms have problems with the recruitment of employees. The companies problems are related to the quality of human resources as well of economic and social factors that influence the recruitment process. This paper presents the results of a quantitative research on the internships importance in human resource training. To conduct this research the authors used the survey as research method and the research instrument was the questionnaire. In the first part of the paper the authors present the research methodology and the context in which it was conducted. In the second part of the paper, the research results are presented. In the end of the paper are presented conclusions and suggestions for increasing the quality of human resources.

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Previous research has pointed out that Industry 4.0 will lead to more sustainable production; however, it may have profound effects on European competitiveness. Today, firms in the CEE countries face a limited scope for continued economic expansion, and hence there is a growing pressure on them to move upward in the global value chain by investing heavily in advanced technology. Consequently, the authors argue that B2B firms from the CEE countries can have a massive impact on Europe’s long-term competitiveness by reversing the effect of digital transformation due to their strong interdependencies on other European economies. Therefore, in a cross-country survey, research data were collected (n = 302) about the driving forces, barriers, and role of stakeholders in the implementation of digital transformations. The authors found that some technologies are implemented much more frequently compared to others, with some indication for country specialization. The leading driving force is customer satisfaction followed by productivity and financial motives. Shortage of skilled human resources and high implementation costs are the main barriers. The firms tend to rely on universities and research centers, while the government is perceived only as a financial provider. The results are also informative for practitioners and policymakers—providing them with benchmarks.

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