Non-profit organizations (NPOs) have become increasingly important in the last decade for Romanian society since the state often failed to fulfill some of its social responsibilities. Romania's economic and financial crisis several years ago hardly hit non-profit sector because it led to a significant drop in public spending at the government level and cuts of financing programs from companies, two main donors for NPOs while simultaneously has amplified society's problems and gave rise to new target groups requiring support. This led to an acute need to address sustainability at organizational level since existing sustainability models in the literature are hardly adequate for Romanian context. We developed a model based on literature survey and Romanian experts' interviews, which allow us to identify relevant factors for Romanian non-profit sustainability. Three determinants were considered: Cognitive competence (nine items analyzed), Social awareness (seven items analyzed) and Financial vulnerability (four items analyzed), as well as two types of results: economic and social. The model was tested through an empirical research on 103 Romanian NPOs and on two sub-samples (nongovernment organizations and community based organizations) and found, using univariate and bivariate analysis, that the three considered determinants are correlated and statistically influence Romanian NPOs sustainability.
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the relationships between absorptive capacity, innovation performance and Information Technology in Romanian small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). This is the first study conducted in Romania which deals with concepts regarding knowledge absorptive capacity and information technology, based on such a large sample of 357 small and medium-sized enterprises from creative industries. The findings identify the effect of multiple dimensions of knowledge absorptive capacity on SMEs' innovation performance from an Information Technology perspective, offering new theoretical and pragmatic insights.
This paper analyzes factors influencing recognition of sustainable opportunities by using an augmented sustainability process model. The conceptual model used two main factors, Knowledge and Motivation, and one moderating variable, Social embeddedness. We investigated entrepreneurs from PVC joinery industry and concluded that while market orientation and sustainable entrepreneurial orientation definitely and positively influence sustainable opportunity recognition, others variables like knowledge of the natural/communal environment, awareness of sustainable development or focus on success have less support. Among all variables analyzed, perception of the threat of the natural/communal environment and altruism toward others have the poorest impact on opportunity recognition. Finally, we concluded that social embeddedness has a moderating effect on sustainable opportunity recognition, even though the results were mixed.
Testing circular economy business models is crucial in understanding Circular Economy features across various industries. This paper analyses Circular Economy perceptions in Romanian SMEs by investigating entrepreneurs from PVC joinery industry. Using a multidimensional framework, ReSOLVE, as a conceptual model, and Lewandowski systematization, we measured 6 business actions and their relations with Value creation. The results of our survey can be described as mixed. Of the 6 business actions of ReSOLVE framework, for half of them (Regenerate, Optimize and Exchange) we can definitely conclude that these are correlated with Circular Economy in terms of Value Creation, while for a fourth there are variables significantly correlated without being able to conclude its overall contribution in terms of Value creation. Our empirical investigation contributes to literature development on Circular Economy research in SMEs and a step forward to shape future research initiatives.
The aim of this paper is to analyze how blockchain technology can improve supply chain variables and technology transfer in medium-sized enterprises from IT&C sector. Blockchain technology is expected to enhance the velocity and reliability of business and managerial processes and increase competitiveness of IT&C companies. The purpose was to see if these combined elements could lead to the generation of competitive advantage, which in turn would influence the firm performance. Based on the study of relevant literature, a conceptual and methodological framework was developed and tested on 383 medium-sized companies from the IT&C sector, using the Confirmatory Factor Analysis. The results of this study show that blockchain technology positively influences supply chain variables and technology transfer, with direct effects on the firm performance.
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