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This study aims to highlight the role of access to finance as one of the determinants on the decision to enter into entrepreneurship of students regarded as potential entrepreneurs. For achieving our main objective, we created a questionnaire. As a method of analysis, we run the least square logistic regression, with entrepreneurial intentions as a dependent variable and knowledge, education and availability of financial resources as predictors. We also included gender, university and locality as control variables. The sample is formed of 181 students from two universities from the North-Eastern region of Romania. The results reveal that access to finance is a significant determinant of the decision to enter into entreprenenruship for young people. Moreover, we show that the relation between access to finance and entrepreneurial intentions changes according to gender, university and locality of origin. Female students’ entrepreneurial intentions are influenced by the availability of bank loans and personal savings, while in case of male students - only by the availability of funds coming from family and friends. The funds coming from family and friends also determine students' entrepreneurial intentions coming from rural or urban areas. Entrepreneurial intentions are negatively related to education for male students and those coming from an economic profile university, and positively related to business knowledge only for students from rural areas. The results obtained could be important for financial resources providers (because they offer insight into how easy access to finance stimulates the entrepreneurial intentions of youth), for education providers (who can adapt their training programs and extracurricular activities to strengthen entrepreneurial intentions), and for decision makers (which may adopt appropriate policies to stimulate the economic development of an area).

Some of the constructs in the field of performance management are intuitive or not empirically validated. This study provides a data-driven framework for measuring and improving the performance through synchronized strategies. The ultimate goal was to provide support for increasing business performance. Empirical research materializes in an exploratory case study and a statistical analysis with econometric models. The case study revealed that a company can improve its performance, even in periods of growth, being characterized by consistent investments. The statistical analysis, performed on a restricted sample of companies, confirmed the results that were provided by the case study. The measurement of performance was made by capitalizing on financial and non-financial data precisely to intensify the interest for corporate sustainability. The obtained results, contrary to previous research that showed that economic value added (EVA) is negatively influenced by the increase in invested capital, open up new research perspectives to find out whether, at the industry level, performance appraisal that is based on EVA stimulates the development of a business’s economic capital. The research has a double utility: scientific (by providing an overview of the state of the art in the field of performance management) and practical (by providing a reference model for measuring and monitoring performance).

Purpose – the study has a dual purpose. First, to assess the impact of the most important determinants of financial performance, which have been measured through four generations of indicators. In addition, the study provides the first quantification of interdependencies between different financial performance measures: profit margin (PM), profit growth rate (PGR), return on assets (ROA), return on equity (ROE), and economic value added (EVA). Research methodology – the primary data was collected from the AMADEUS database. Empirical research was conducted on a relatively homogeneous sample from the automotive industry, using the panel data method for the period 2010–2019. Two models were tested. The first model highlights the relationships between performance measures and selected determinants. The second model highlights the relationship between the different performance measures and the determinants used in the first model. Findings – the determinants analysed have different influences on the selected performance measures. For example, in the first model, the results statistically significant indicated the following. The current ratio has a positive influence on ROA, but a negative one on ROE and EVA. Gearing has a negative influence on PM and ROA, but a positive one on EVA. The growth rate of sales has a positive influence on PM, but a negative one on ROA and EVA. The size of the company has a positive influence on three performance measures (PM, ROA, and EVA). Regarding the relationships between the different performance measures (second model), the research indicates that EVA is negatively influenced by PGR and ROA. In this model, the determinants analysed maintain their meaning and intensity of influences. Research limitations – the article has several limitations. The representativeness of the results is valuable only at the level of the researched industry. In addition, it should be noted that the analyses are focused only on financial performance, assessed by accounting measures. The authors are considering conducting comparative analyses at the level of fields/branches of activity to capture not only the impact of determinants on financial performance but also to assess organizational resilience. Practical implications – The research provides clues to managers and financial decision-makers to increase the financial performance of the companies they lead. Originality/value – the originality of the study lies in the presented methodological approach. Unlike previous research, which usually evaluated performance on only one indicator, this paper aims to assess the impact of the most important determinants on five performance measures. In addition, the analysis of the interdependencies between the different performance measures is another novelty of this research.

Against the backdrop of concerns for diminishing the vulnerabilities of the economies of the Member States, the EU has adopted measures to strengthen budgetary discipline and control of the public deficit. In this context, the responsibility of government institutions has increased, not only in ensuring the sustainability of public finances but also in direct or indirect cooperation for good economic governance. From this perspective, this study aims to assess the impact of macroeconomic variables and those associated with supreme audit institutions on the sustainability of public finances measured by the size and dynamics of government deficit and gross public debt. Additionally, the impact of the same variables on governmental effectiveness and control of corruption has also been assessed. The data collected from secondary sources and panel data models were used to conduct an empirical study of the EU Member States which covered the 2002–2019 period and the sub-periods, divided as follows: pre-crisis, crisis, and post-crisis. The results of the study show that supreme audit institutions, through their organizational structure, the nature of their activities, and professionalism, may contribute to the reduction of public deficit and gross public debt and, implicitly, to higher efficiency and control of corruption. The results of analyses for the sub-periods show that ISAs played a more important role in reducing government deficit during crisis and post-crisis periods. By confirming or rejecting the results of the few studies that have been conducted so far, this study provides additional evidence that fills the gaps in the literature.

Theory and practice suggest that entrepreneurship is the engine of economic growth. The speed with which a nation moves from economic growth to economic development depends on the performance of entrepreneurial initiatives. Given the role played by entrepreneurship for the development of an economy, increasing its performance can help the development of national markets and the increase in national competitiveness. The main objective of our paper is to investigate the link between entrepreneurial performance and economic development of countries. The research was carried out on a sample of 27 European Union countries in a period of twelve years. We used panel data regression models. As dependent variables for expressing the economic development, we considered the global competitiveness index and the gross domestic product per capita growth. As independent variables, we used a set of indicators measuring entrepreneurial performance. Our findings highlight the significant role played by increased entrepreneurial performance for enhancing the economic development of EU countries. We also find that some indicators expressing entrepreneurial performance might have different effects on the economy depending on the stage of economic development of countries. Our research provides empirical evidence regarding the need for performant entrepreneurial activities for enhancing economic development.

In the context of globalization and increased competitive pressure, the client becomes the most valuable asset for the company and so it needs to valorize the competitive advantage in order to ensure not only maximizing client satisfaction but also profit growth. Consequently, the consumer centered approach needs to be conceived and implemented to guarantee increased company performance and profitability.Rethinking and implementing the marketing strategy in accordance with specific client profiling requires continuous investments and while the marketing costs have a high degree of certainty, the extensive studies conducted on the impact of the marketing efforts on performance metrics such as revenue, sales, profits or firm value reveal a high degree on uncertainty. The marketing costs volume, dynamic and structure are directly linked to the activities aimed at increasing costumer satisfaction, loyalty and retention. The main benefits of marketing efforts can be evaluated on two levels: 1) direct financial benefits, generated by increased revenue and consequently higher ROI (Return on investment); 2) indirect benefits resulting from costumer portfolio that can be exploited in the future.The marketing costs versus benefits management has particularities according to the main objective of the company: increasing the customer portfolio, and preserving (loyalty and retention) of existing customers.According to S. Pete and I. R. Cardos [5], the first objective entails higher investments, as the cost for acquiring new costumers is significantly higher than the one for retaining existing ones, thus, the second objective is often considered more competitive, financial wise.The fact that marketing is an important activity for enterprises has caused an increase in marketing related expenditure. L. Kosan [6] considers that a higher level of investment in marketing activities in terms of budgeted The effect of marketing expenses on car sales -an empirical analysisMihaela Brîndușa Tudose 1* , Lidia Alexa 2 1 "Gheorghe Asachi" Technical University, Iasi, brindusa.tudose@tuiasi.ro, Romania 2 "Gheorghe Asachi" Technical University, Iasi, lidia.alexa@tuiasi.ro, RomaniaAbstract. The paper assesses empirically the relationship between marketing expenditures and sales in a highly competitive industry, namely automotive, by analyzing the marketing expending of Automobile Dacia S.A. The first part of the paper presents the state-of-the-art and discusses the studies previously conducted which focus on the structure, dynamic and the impact of marketing expenses, while the second part consists in an empirical analysis conducted on Automobile Dacia S.A. marketing spending. The results of the study show that the company managed to increase its' market share by adopting differentiated marketing for each geographical area. Although the research revealed that the allocation percentage from sales for marketing spending is relatively low (5-6%), the analysis conducted on the cost per unit sold reveals a share of 3% on marketing spending.

Our paper is analyzing the theoretical and empirical research in the field of competitiveness and it presents the methodology of determining the global competitiveness index. Also, our paper is analyzing the evolution of the global competitiveness index in the Member States of the European Union, in the last years. The results obtained show that more than half of European Union Member States recorded an increase in the global competitiveness index on the account of the basic influence factors. With the exception of six countries (Bulgaria, Cyprus, Croatia, France, Italy, Malta), the European Union countries show a favorable influence of the efficiency on the index of global competitiveness. The highest contribution of the efficiency on the increase of global competitiveness is recorded in Portugal, Romania, Latvia, Lithuania and Bulgaria; on the opposite side is Malta, Cyprus and Germany. Regarding the influence of innovation, only three countries have recorded a negative impact of the innovation on the global competitiveness index: Finland, Spain and Austria. On the other hand Romania, Cyprus and Portugal show the highest favorable effect of innovation on the competitiveness.