Sustainability and responsible consumption are now the policies of companies interested in preserving a good reputation. If in the past, sustainability was an issue present only in the corporate social responsibility campaigns developed by companies; nowadays, this aspect has become a key element that has been proven to influence the purchasing behavior of consumers. The existence of policies and strategies in the area of sustainability does not necessarily mean their being put into practice as long as people, who make these objectives attainable, are not aware of them. The present paper aims to explore the green consumption of Romanian consumers, which would indicate whether the concern for environmental problems is then translated into an appropriate behavior; in other words, whether "words become facts". At the same time, this paper analyzes the extent to which the "green trend" has gained popularity in Romania, how involved the Romanian consumers are with environmental issues and the behaviors they adopt in order to mitigate the impact on the ecosystem. However, there are differences between individual opinions on green consumption and the actual behavior adopted in trying to ameliorate this issue. OPEN ACCESSSustainability 2015, 7 6395
Time and responses are vital to the process of decision-making. It is a common assumption that having a wide array of options from which to choose is a good thing, but is that truly the case? This research aims to investigate the consumer’s reaction to the increasing number of choices available (which will be referred to as choice overload, or overchoice); more precisely, if it is related to paralysis concerning decision-making. To obtain structured and relevant results, the study is an intergenerational one, endeavoring to compare the outcomes across three different generations (Generations X, Y, and Z) and across their genders. It also aims at identifying trends, if any should arise, pertaining to the matter of overchoice. A survey was conducted among 396 respondents from Iasi, Romania, and the questionnaire is presented in the annex. The main results indicate that product overchoice is real but is more significant in terms of generational point of view rather than that of gender. The findings fill a knowledge gap on the relationship between choice overload and decision paralysis.
Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) are considered the engine of any economy and actively contribute to the economic growth of countries. For this reason, there are concerns regarding the identification of the factors that influence the activity of SMEs and, in particular, how they manage to adapt and obtain better performance in a constantly changing economic environment. The tax burden is high and discouraging for many enterprises, so we aimed to analyse the relationship between the taxes imposed on SMEs and their performance. Thus, the main purpose of our study was to analyse the relationship between the taxes paid by SMEs and their performance. The period of analysis consisted of the 14 years between 2008 and 2021. The analysed sample comprised the 27 member countries of the European Union. To test the relationship, we used panel data methods, and we considered two indicators that measure the performance of SMEs as dependent variables and indicators that measure the taxes paid by businesses as independent variables. For a more in-depth analysis, we used clusters of countries. The main results show that the taxes that SMEs have to pay are seen as obstacles in the way of improving performance. Moreover, the relationship between taxes and the performance of SMEs depends on the specifics of the economy of the country.
Concern about energy in the European Union (EU) has been a recurrent issue from the very beginning. Though initially addressed at the state level, energy is now a shared competency as stressed by article 194 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union. New challenges, added from time to time, need public support in order to be properly addressed. Such is the case of substituting traditional energy production with renewable energy sources. Our paper seeks to determine whether the Romanian public opinion favors such an evolution, which is traditionally associated with significant investment efforts. The study is focused on the north-east development region, which has the highest population and registered the fastest economic growth in 2019. The topic was explored through a survey applied to a sample of 649 household respondents. The results suggest strong support for introducing renewable energy sources, serious concerns about climate change, and a preoccupation for energy saving. Concerns regarding climate change or various economic factors, behaviors oriented towards reducing energy waste, as well as perceived knowledge on the matter are the factors with the biggest impact on supporting electricity production based on renewable energy sources. However, TV and online exposure have a negative impact on support. Demographics, along with social and political values remain mostly not significant.
We hear more and more often that positive things make our life more beautiful and make us more optimistic. But is it really true? If until a few years ago, the products had usual names, now it is desired for them to have a catchy name that would remain in the memory of the target audience. In this research I have analysed the attitude that young people have towards energy drinks with negative brand names, the impact of these energy drinks on them and also the influence they have on the decisional act of purchase. Among secondary objectives was the establishment of the notoriety of energy drinks that have negative names in the case of young people. Another secondary objective consisted in the comparative analysis of the impact that energy drinks with negative names have on men and women. Also, for the determination of the attitude that young people have towards energy drinks with negative names, it was necessary to get one at the time the feelings, the conviction offered by these energizers and also the intent of buying them among young people.
Although the extended self is a relatively new concept, over the years it has developed rapidly, being the subject of study of several marketing researches. Our possessions contribute to reflecting our identity, so it is very important to look at how people expand their self in relation to others and how possessions become part of themselves. We can not hope to understand the behavior of consumers without first gaining a certain understanding of the attention they give to their possessions. The main findings until now show that certain objects accelerate the interest of the consumer for the actual consumption, because the consumption helps define people about what they are. Our aim is to deepen this idea through a survey.
NOWADAYS in the business environment all over the world, where information is transmitted quickly and competition is increasingly tougher, companies are making efforts to reduce costs and identify creative resources and competitive advantages 1 . Thus, confronted with these new challenges, work motivation and innovation acquire more importance than ever before. The companies have to direct their attention to 'ordinary' employees, who can be 'exceptional innovators' 1 if they are provided the necessary environment and resources. Under these circumstances, it is essential to analyse the attitude towards work of employees, in general, and of the 'new' employees, in particular. We cannot discuss the attitude towards work without bringing in the concept of culture. Equally, individuals, organizations and theories regarding the organizations bear the mark of culture. The cultural values influence the way in which an individual perceives and interprets a situation; therefore, they have an influence on behaviour 2 . MethodologyThis scientific endeavour aims at analysing the attitude towards work of the new generation of employees and the way in which cultural factor influences this attitude. For this purpose, we conducted intercultural research on work attitude in three national cultures: India, Romania and Sweden. The research was carried out in the time period In order to achieve the research objectives, two quantitative research studies were carried out. Analysis of secondary dataResearch is interpretation of data, not necessarily the collection of data. According to Hofstede et al. 3 , as well as research of specialized literature and the internet will show that in many cases, there are relevant databases, drawn up in a professional way, which are waiting to be consulted and interpreted. For example, World Values Survey 4 (WVS) and European Values Survey 5 (EVS). Since WVS and EVS provide data that cover all social, gender and age groups within each country, data from these two-databases were taken into account and referred to as the national average. WVS was used to obtain data for India, whereas EVS provided information on Romania and Sweden. Students' survey researchThe studied population includes Master's students with work experience. The research was carried out in universities with the help of a self-administered questionnaire comprising 19 questions. Only three of these questions were analysed for the purpose of this research, of which
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