Purpose In the context of resource scarcity, the affiliation of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to strategic networks has emerged as a fruitful path towards knowledge sharing as a reaction to fierce competition and with a view to enhance their innovative performance. In this framework, this paper aims to investigate the influence exerted by a specific relational design (i.e. types of strategic networks) and methodology (i.e. channels and content) of knowledge sharing on SMEs innovative performance. Design/methodology/approach A questionnaire-based survey with 102 top managers of European SMEs in the industrial field was conducted from June to August 2019 and a partial least squares structural equation modelling technique was used. The database was initially filtered to ensure the adequacy of the sample and data was analysed using the statistics software package SmartPLS 3.0. Findings The results concluded that the structural model explains 38.5% of the variance in SMEs innovative performance, indicating the positive effects exerted by offline and online and by competitive knowledge sharing on the dependent variable. Research implications The study has both theoretical and practical implications in that it sets out a reference point for the key performance indicators for strategic networks structure, formation and development and, implicitly, for the selection of the most efficient relational design and methodology. Originality/value The pivotal originality elements reside in the advancement of a more comprehensive conceptual and structural model combining a two-fold operationalization of SMEs strategic networks (founded on business abilities or on the personality of the partner) and in the investigation of knowledge transfer processes at the inter-organizational levels within a context-centric approach.

The purpose of this paper is to explore the process of Cloud Computing adoption within Romanian Small and Medium sized Enterprises in the digital age. Most of the scientific papers related to this topic examine the general outlook of cloud computing implementation in Romania and focus on the use of the afore-mentioned technologies by large scale companies. In order to identify the factors that have an influence over the choice of Romanian SMEs to adopt cloud computing technology, a conceptual model has been set forth. The model's dependent variable is the choice of the company's management to implement cloud computing technologies. Five different independent types of variable structures which have an effect on the adoption of cloud computing within SMEs were identified. The five categories of variables are competition & government, ICT providers & firm departments, employee, manager and technological factors. Each of these categories of determinants encompasses at their turn two or more constructs. An online survey tested the model based on the responses of managers and directors from 198 Romanian SMEs from the cities of Bucharest and Cluj. The validity of the model was performed by completing factor analysis and reliability tests of the data; a logistic regression analysis was deployed to test the research hypotheses. The results emphasized that the managers' know-how on cloud computing and the perceived costs of implementing the technology represent the main components influencing the spreading of cloud computing among Romanian SMEs. This study makes a valuable contribution to the academic environment but to businesses as well. The model can be used to examine the implementation of different innovative applications. Companies which offer cloud computing services could take advantage of the outcomes of this study to expand the degree of cloud service introduction among SMEs.

By gliding sustainability into the mainstream areas of marketing strategy, the purpose of the current research is to analyze the influence of the entrepreneurs' orientation towards sustainability on relational marketing practices-i.e., interaction versus network marketing. Placed within a comparative setup, the investigation included a sample of 104 business owners of Romanian small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) from the services sector, the selection of participants being subject to well-defined pre-established criteria. Acknowledging the research gap which addresses the type of business strategy fit for entrepreneurs' orientation towards sustainability, the conceptual model integrated a categorical moderator variable (Planned/Emergent Business Strategies) as indicative of the potential heterogeneity among the hypothesized relationships. Both measurement and structural models were appraised by means of a structural equation modeling technique, respectively, component-based partial least squares (PLS-SEM). As the findings concluded, the entrepreneurs' orientation towards sustainability accounts for almost 35% of variance in interaction marketing practices and 16% of variance in network marketing practices, thus positing a higher influence on the former. Moreover, evidence was provided that the reification of the entrepreneurs' orientation towards sustainability in relational marketing practices was not significantly dependent on the type of business strategy.

Nowadays it has become easier and easier to reach and achieve information and a great reason for that is the fast evolution of technology. Along with these less complicated opportunities to access information there is an increasing consciousness of recognizing the ways to use it in different moments in time especially within the business environment. Successful organizations empower employees to share knowledge by rewarding them for such actions. And the organization’s leaders must be role models of sharing knowledge regularly with their teams, and they should discuss openly about successes and failures. Taking all these aspects into account, in this paper various processes of knowledge management (KM) are presented from theoretical approaches to practical ones. Successful examples of KM within multiple Shared Service Centers of two multinational companies based in Bucharest, Romania are displayed in order to uncover best practices. A qualitative and in the same time a quantitative investigation were expanded and tested in these Shared Service Centers with the objective to detect the current most suitable patterns and procedures of KM in 2019 and, simultaneously, the difficulties in applying the KM methods within an organization. Information from different employees in the companies was gathered regarding the key success factors of implementing Knowledge Management in organizations (organizational culture, leadership, efficient and systematic processes, technology and strategy). The results certified that communication, along with an open professional behavior, sharing experiences and teamwork as the most important factors for boosting Knowledge Management within the organization.

Lately, concern for green innovation has expanded in the business environment and many companies see it as a helpful element to gain competitive advantage. Due to the strains of maintaining sustainable businesses, mobile commerce companies are propelled to build up their own green innovation programs and harmonize them with the firm’s management programs. The central scope of this research is to examine the drivers for green innovation within a range of Romania-based mobile commerce companies that operate in different industries. With the aim of identifying the factors that determine the development of green innovation, a conceptual model has been conceived. The dependent variable within the model is the action of the company’s management to develop green innovation. Four independent types of variable structures that have an impact on the development of green innovation in mobile commerce firms were distinguished. The four categories of constructs are business environmental factors (1), green training (2), green supplier development (3), and technological factors (4). An online survey tested the model based on the responses of senior level management representatives from 182 Romanian mobile commerce companies from Bucharest. The validity of the model was fulfilled though factor analysis and reliability tests for the data; a logistic regression analysis was also used to test the research hypotheses. The research revealed that green training embodies the fundamental element enhancing green innovation among Romanian mobile commerce companies. This article benefits both academia and business. Firms could be inspired by the results of this paper to broaden the level of green innovation throughout the Romanian business environment.

Due to the population’s growing need for energy and the increasing impact of the phenomena of global warming and climate change on a global level, it becomes imperative to diminish energy consumption worldwide. For this reason, a deeper understanding of factors that encourage energy-saving habits and overall lifestyle is required. This research examined the factors that hold an impact on the adoption of energy-saving habits in Romania. It used eight constructs that were checked to see if they influence the individuals’ intentions to save energy. The research used a quantitative analysis approach, with primary data assembled through a survey of the population from six developed counties in Romania. In order to investigate and assess the data, structural equation modeling (SEM) was used. The results show that environmental awareness, perceived consumer effectiveness and a collectivistic perspective affect individuals in implementing energy-saving habits (in their life) in a significant and positive way. However, resistance to change and perceived costs were identified as having a negative and significant impact on the individuals’ implementation of such habits within their households. The outcomes of this research play a part in raising awareness of what could determine a more energy-saving lifestyle, and therefore it is essential that stakeholders within the energy sector in Romania consider the aspects of environmental awareness, perception of consumer effectiveness, perceived costs, collectivism and resistance to change during the development of programs of energy efficiency.

Placing self-assessed health (SAH) and its determinants within a social systems framework, the current paper aims to investigate the influences of individual characteristics, environmental and socio-economic factors on the way people rate their own health. The multiplexity and dynamics of social structures are examined through the lens of the digital era, which exerts a substantive impact on the individuals' appraisal of reality and capacity of adjusting to the unfolding of the world. Thus, given the digital-centric environment contextualizing the activity of white-collar workers, the study scrutinizes SAH and its determinants based on over 54 000 observations. The findings support the inferred relationships, supporting that SAH is determined by multifield variables to a great extent.

As shifts occur on the global market and business models adapt to a dynamic environment, the process of business internationalization, as performed by small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), maintains its relevance for academics, professionals, international organizations, and authorities. Studies in the field have emphasized the strategic component of internationalization, linking it to cultivating (sustainable) competitive advantages, to stimulating strategic innovation, to the pursuit of profitability, and to an overall improved performance, taking into account the activities conducted on foreign markets. Based on a survey carried out with over 100 European SMEs in the steel field, this study examines the influences of strategic collaborators (from international business networks), intermediaries (as organizational links to the target stakeholders), and strategic innovation on SMEs’ profitability resulted from international operations, and on the level of business development on foreign markets. The results have shown positive influences among most of the considered factors (i.e., direct collaborators, strategic innovation, international profitability and development), whereas intermediaries have a significant influence only on international profitability and not on SMEs’ development on foreign markets.