bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Creative economy and knowledge-based society. Perspectives for Romania
Authors: Istudor Laura Gabriela 
Published: August 2017

AbstractCreative economy is a rather new concept that started developing during the last decade, being currently applied to a variety of activities and professions. It has become an important sector of the global economy, being sustained and promoted by the European Union, especially in the context of an innovative and knowledge-based society. Within this new type of economy, creativity, innovation and knowledge management are essential factors that lead to a smart, sustainable and inclusive development in regard to the creation of new jobs and to the social inclusion requirements. According to John Howkins (2001), the creative industries / sectors include art, research, advertising, movies, theatre, software, with the possibility of the concept of creative economy to be extended to other non-artistic and IT related fields, where improvements are expected to arise through innovation and creativity. The Global Creativity Index (GCI) and the European Innovation Scoreboard (EIS), are two benchmarking tools that measure the creativity and innovation degree of the countries in the European Union, placing Romania within the last positions, especially with respect to intellectual property rights and entrepreneurship. The research methodology consists of both qualitative and quantitative methods, while the research questions to be answered are What is the degree of innovation in Romania compared to other states? What can be done in order to increase the level of innovation in Romania? In this viewpoint, the paper analyzes the development of the creative industries / sectors in Romania, in the context of creative economy and innovation. The objective of the paper is to analyze the extent to which the concept of creative economy can be promoted and implemented in Romania, given its increasing importance at the international level, with countries such as the United Kingdom that already adopted strategies to sustain this kind of economy in the past years. In order to reach the above mentioned objective, the paper has been structured by starting with a brief literature review on the topic, followed by some best practice examples in order to have an overview of the international trends in the field. It includes as well the main challenges for the implementation of the concept of creative economy in Romania, accompanied by a set of conclusions and recommendations.
Nation branding in the Middle East - United Arab Emirates (UAE) vs. Qatar
Authors: Zeineddine Cornelia 
Published: August 2017

Abstract
Nation branding is crucial in order to attract investment, boost exports and attract tourists and talented workforce. Nation branding stands between public diplomacy and economic benefits. An adequate policy of Nation Branding-based on a positive, credible and economically reliable image-can be able to extend the range of potential customers and of potential investors. With the aim of better understanding the new challenges, opportunities and threats existent in a globalized economy, the paper compares nation branding in the context of UAE and Qatar. The paper examines nation-branding as a driver for boosting the economy, taking into account that clichés and stereotypes (especially in the context of the Middle East) can influence our perception towards one country or another. The analysis explores the strategy adopted in order that Dubai becomes the flagship-brand of the UAE. Abu Dhabi complements this strategy, driving UAE to the position of the most valuable brand in the Middle East. The paper further enquires the case of Qatar and compares it with the branding process of the UAE. Qatar has established various branding resources such as the Al Jazeera news network, international sport events and several cultural and educational exchange programs with international profile. The UAE strives to become an influencer in the global economy, overriding its dependence on hydrocarbon reserves. Qatar is richer in hydrocarbon reserves than the UAE; nevertheless, it shares the interest of detaching itself from the rentier economy. The study explores the fact that from 2014-onwards the global oil economy was hit hard, as the price of the oil barrel is at an historic low, thus it has become stringent for the Persian Gulf countries to diversify the revenue sources. As a result, their branding strategy has become even more salient. The processes undertaken for establishing nation-brands in the Gulf are noteworthy and constitute the focal point of the paper.
Japanese women in the contemporary society
Authors: Dinca Violeta Mihaela , Floricel Teodora , Zottu Monica 
Published: August 2017

Abstract
The purpose of this paper is to examine Japanese society and present contemporary issues with emphasis on the changes in the role, status and preferences of Japanese women within the Japanese society, through the years. The first part of the paper makes an overview on the evolution of the role of women in Japanese society during Shogunate until now, focusing mainly on increasing Japanese women's status within the enterprise. In the second part of the paper, the author exposes the results of several studies on the effects on the marketing of luxury for Japanese women, highlighting the correlation between increased interest to be as competitive in the workplace and enhancing concern for luxury brands.
Financial management of insurance companies in the context of the new regime Solvency II
Authors: Istrate Costin , Badea Dumitru 
Published: August 2017

Abstract
The new solvency regime Solvency II represents a solid and harmonized prudential framework applicable by insurance companies in the European area. Solvency II was implemented in the European Union by adopting Directives 2009/138/EC respectively 2014/51/EU, replacing existing directives regulating solvency former regime, known as Solvency I. Thus, the new European legislation in insurance, applicable from 1 January 2016, was aimed at unifying the main European insurance market and ensuring consumer protection. The responsible authority at EU level with the implementation of the new solvency regime is EIOPA - European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority, which dealt in previous periods of testing the European market insurance through organizing quantitative impact studies (last exercise - QIS5, organized in 2011). The main standards derived from Solvency II and also the new IFRS accounting provisions, intended to increase the transparency of risk management and investment, in order to pricing insurance products and profitability of the different classes of insurance rates. Solvency II brings both challenges and opportunities for companies, changing the concept of building protection programs for insured and generating additional concerns about capital requirements in the determination of own funds (basic, auxiliary and surplus) that can be used to meet this requirement. Also estimate realistic and prudent risk assumed by insurance contracts concluded transposed to the insurance companies by recording every technical reserves represent a very important element in order to establish an optimal balance of financial resources. Given the significant overlap between IFRS and Solvency II, insurers will have to improve disclosure requirements of additional information and adjust planning and forecasting. All these measures will increase the efficiency of financial management, a series of operational measures and by providing documented and tested processes. Also, increasing volatility related to financial results will cause insurance companies to deliver predictable results, a process that will produce changes in the financial management optics.
Does brand posting behaviour influence follower engagement on Instagram?
Authors: Balan Carmen 
Published: August 2017

Abstract
The Instagram application captured the attention of hundreds of millions of users. The goal of this paper was to study whether there is a statistically significant relationship between the posting behaviour of corporate retail brands on Instagram and follower engagement. The proxy variables used to describe the posting behaviour were: number of days with posts, number of posts and existence of calls to action within posts. The proxy variables for engagement were the number of likes, as well as the sum of likes and comments for each post. The study referred to the Instagram activity of the top fifty global specialty retailers. Lately, the researchers’ interest in social media grew substantially. In contrast, the studies relative to the posting behaviour of companies on Instagram are rather scarce. At present, scientific research on this topic is in an preliminary state. In addition, there are no published findings of scientific research on the use of Instagram by top global specialty retailers. The paper aimed to answer the following research questions: (a) “Is posting on Instagram a common behaviour of the top fifty global specialty retailers?”; (b) “How active are these companies in posting own photo and video content?”; (c) “Are there statistically significant relationships between the variables describing the posting behaviour and those reflecting the follower engagement?”. The data were collected by monitoring verified badge Instagram accounts of the top fifty global specialty retailers. The t test was applied on data from the online study of 612 posts. Findings reveal statistical significant relationships between the analysed variables. There is a strong correlation between the number of posts and engagement. To the best of our knowledge, this article is the first to approach this topic. As a direct implication for retailers, an intense posting activity may lead to an increased engagement of followers.
Cloud computing and public administration: approaches in several European countries
Authors: Zaharia-Rădulescu Adrian-Mihai , Radu Ioan 
Published: August 2017

Abstract
The Digital Agenda for Europe 2020 has more objectives from increasing the participation of its citizens and consumers in the digital society to creating a fully interconnected society. These objectives can be supported through a high degree of digitization achieved at public administration level and an increased performance in delivering public services. Cloud computing is one of the ICT areas with a fast growth in the last years that presents a big promise for achieving the objectives of the Digital Agenda for Europe 2020. This paper aims to present what cloud computing is and how it can help the public administration to increase its performance. From Infrastructure as a Service continuing with Platform as a Service and moving up to Software as a Service each level of cloud computing is presented in here with its strong and weak points and how it is suitable for a given use case in public administration. The challenges and the risks of moving to cloud and the differences between public, private and hybrid cloud are also presented in the paper. The research done by the author is both theoretical and literature review and combines knowledge from different areas. An analysis and examples of cloud computing approach and implementation in several European Union countries are presented in this paper to facilitate the understanding of the subject. Cloud computing can help public administration to decrease costs, standardize services in different locations, integrate public resources and provide a higher transparency in the government act.
Digitalization influence on shopping centers strategic management
Authors: Ioniţă Irene Mihaela 
Published: August 2017

AbstractShopping centers are an important aspect of the extremely dynamic life of the 21stcentury consumer. Nowadays, worldwide, shopping centers represent significant multimillion euro investments, remarking themselves with bold architectures and structures and an individual brand image. Retail markets are currently under transformation by a confluence of new retailing technologies, dramatic shifts in the demographic profile and preferences of more affluent and educated shoppers. Part of the market share in modern retail moved to new forms of selling, which weakened the offer of some traditional retailers, while also creating opportunities for retailers to move and integrate their offerings with new digital tools (via electronic commerce, social commerce and mobile commerce). Meeting customer needs and increasing sales are the primary drivers behind retailers use of information systems and technology (IS/IT). New developments in IS/IT offer new opportunities and challenges for organizations and society. The current paper proposes to analyze the way digital media and information technology (computers and mobile devices) influences the virtual and physical shopping experiences, and shopping centers management consequently. The need for communication & sales channels integration, the impact of new information technologies (IT’s), the growing role of social / digital media, the balance between personalization and privacy – all represent challenges retail industry needs to currently adapt to face digitalization. E-commerce is transforming both consumer behavior and retailing business models, by greatly expanding shopping convenience, selection and affordability.
The „7Ps”&”1G” that rule in the digital world the marketing mix
Authors: Pistol Luminita , Ţoniş Bucea-Manea Rocsana 
Published: August 2017

Abstract
Recently, digital marketing mix is developing very interesting new features, because of the market dynamics, IT fast development, and globalization phenomena. The old paradigm still base on 4Ps model (product, price, promotion, and place). This research develops a theoretical framework specifically for marketing mix. Starting from a literature review regarding the 4 Ps in marketing and studying the new generation (Z) features, it can be drawn new directions on digital marketing mix, such us people, process, perseverance (other 3P). In the same time the environmental changes urge us to develop and implement new strategies in marketing as to get sustainable eco-innovation. Thus the green marketing (1G) is an important factor in the marketing mix, in raising the awareness on new politics and good practices for protecting the environment. The article brings a new paradigm for marketing mix: 7P+1G, and validate the model by unit root test. A forecast, regarding green marketing, is made with the What-If analysis.
Smart services – characteristics, challenges, opportunities and business models
Authors: Marquardt Katrin 
Published: August 2017

Abstract
“Industry 4.0”, “Digitalization”, “Internet of Things” and “Smart Services” are the today’s buzzwords when tracking economic news. It is to ask about the meaning of those phrases. The world has changed over the last decade from a mainly physical to software controlled economy and the information technology has become an integral part of our industry and society in its entirety. Nowadays it is no longer the product that matters it is the data that are generated by using the product or service. Those usage data collected and analyzed commence new business models and services. The economic future of a company will much more rely on the ability to collect and use the data to generate Smart Services for their customers and to transform from a simple product supplier to an entertainment provider. However there are not only opportunities there are also challenges on the way to that new services which needs to be known and considered. For instance the development cycles need to be faster, the business models need to be adjusted and the positive financial results will not come into the picture on the first day. Based on those thoughts and while there only a handful of researches about that new services exists, the main purpose of the present study is at first, to gain a common understanding about the meaning and the characteristics of Smart Services and their adjacencies. Secondly, the study summarizes the identified challenges and opportunities in relation to them. Thirdly, the author introduce and explain the main business models usable for those Smart Services and the requirements for starting the transformation towards those services. The aim of this paper is to set a basis for this exciting and relatively unsought topic and to produce an interest in further empirical and practical researches in this area. The methodologies used for this research are a systematic literature review and an evaluation of existing studies with the subjects “Industrie 4.0”, “Digitization”, “Internet of Things” and “Smart Services”. Additional national initiated programs and best-practice of transformations where analyzed and interpreted. The outcome of the study is always focused on service providers.
Mechanisms underlying major investment projects in the Romanian public administration: strong and long term collaboration among stakeholders
Authors: Tănăsescu Laurian Gabriel 
Published: August 2017

Abstract
Starting from the existing situation, in order to understand the mechanisms underlying investment projects financed from public funds in Romania, we analysed the following public sources of information: For projects implemented before 2007, we analysed data available on the Internet, including databases of international donors such as www.dgmarket.com, http://www.ted.europa.eu/, etc. We analysed data made available by the Public Procurement Electronic System through the portal http://data.gov.ro. The data set analysed includes over 8 million awarding contract notices. For the EU funded projects, we requested the Ministry of European Funds to offer us access to the relevant database (SMIS), which includes all the projects financed under the European funding programme 2007 – 2013 (projects implemented before 31.12.2015). Comparing data from all these sources leads to the conclusion that the information is coherent and represents a credible basis for our analysis. We found that 48% of all investment projects implemented in Romania in 2007 – 2016 and co-funded under European funds (in terms of the share of eligible expenses) requested outsourcing services for the preparation of the project documentation needed to apply for funds; such expenses represent almost 3 % of the total eligible project expenses approved. Almost 36% (in terms of the share of eligible expenses) of all investment projects implemented in Romania in 2007 – 2016 and co-funded under European funds, revealed a strong and long term relationship between the company that participates in the elaboration of the grant application and the beneficiary of funds. This collaboration continued throughout the implementation of the project. These companies delivered services / supplied goods / carried out construction works whose value exceeds 15 billion lei, which represents over 54% of the total eligible costs of the respective projects.
A new set of performance indicators for improving the capitalization process of Intellectual Property
Authors: Hadăr Alexandra , Purcărea Anca Alexandra 
Published: August 2017

Abstract
Performance indicators of technology transfer/knowledge activity, of intellectual property capitalization in a technical university as well as those referring to the monitoring of academic entrepreneurship are closely correlated, in terms of objectives and strategies adopted at European level, in the context of the third mission undertaken by universities of the XXI century. So far, a systematic research on the development about the capitalization process of intellectual propertytechnical universities in Romania was not conducted. In this context, the analysis and adoption of a new set of indicators for monitoring and evaluating institutional performance, appropriate to an optimization model applicable in academic environment, is required to support the growth of its competitiveness. The present analysis involved the achievement of a research in two stages, one quantitative and the other qualitative, defining, in a rational manner, the set of indicators for monitoring and evaluating the institutional performance. Analysis began with a quantitative research, where the number of indicators, originally envisaged, was limited. Following this research there were retained only the indicators having a weight of over 50%. For a better formulation of the problem investigated and for some conceptual clarification it was achieved a qualitative research, conducted through a focus group, two authors scrolling two such research. Following qualitative research, carried out in order to classify indicators for monitoring and evaluation the performance analysis of technology transfer / knowledge within a public research organizations, i.e. a technical university, we decided the importance ranking of the first three indicators: a) the number of direct contracts with the socio - economic environment; b) the number of contracts and research projects financed through competitive mechanisms, in collaboration with partners from outside the academic environment and c) the revenue generated from the commercialization of knowledge from higher education institutions (revenue from licenses, income from royalties etc.).
Testing the quality of underground transport in Bucharest
Authors: Statescu Alexandru 
Published: August 2017

Abstract
In a city with overcrowded traffic, a component of the common transport is Bucharest transportation of metro (subway passenger transport on the railway network underground and surface) and is the core activity of METROREX S.A. The company aims each year a greater number of passengers according to the charts of the movement of subway trains to ensure adequate transport capacity as required and optimal conditions of comfort and safety. Each year, the company aims to find out the opinion of passengers on the transport conditions and, in this respect, organize a survey with the aim of testing the quality of underground transport in Bucharest in 16 subway stations considered to be representative. In this paper I intend to do an analysis using statistical research methods, of the quality of underground transport in Bucharest, using data from the survey conducted in the year 2014. Data collection in the stations was realized through 32 operators, by 2 in each station (one in each direction of travel) by completing questionnaires (using interview technique or face to face technique), using a sample considered representative of 2,400 travelers with a margin of error of ± 2% on a 95% probability level. Data collection was made during the period when passenger traffic is large enough to provide a good representation of data and cover the entire program running underground. The questionnaire contains eight questions that have allowed those who responded to the survey to fit in the time between trains in circulation. In 2016, the structure of the questionnaire was modified, questions were modified for a more effective assessment of characteristics of observation. The answers to the questions contained in the questionnaire were collected by operators in the 16 subway stations: Piața Unirii 1 and 2, Piața Victoriei 1 and 2, Dristor 2, Nicolae Grigorescu, Universitate, Piața Sudului, Pipera, Eroilor, Gara de Nord 1, Obor, Crângași, Pantelimon, Parc Bazilescu and 1 December 1918, analyzed and processed based on 2400 questionnaires. A new category of polls states in the present and is determined by evolutions in computer networks and communication, are called online surveys conducted on the Web. Also in this paper, I propose the implementation of a solution based on an online survey website that includes the online version of the questionnaire used to collect data from the virtual environment.