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Innovation and Sustainability in a Turbulent Economic Environment–Selected Papers from the 12th International Conference on Business Excellence

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A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 April 2019) | Viewed by 68640

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Prof. Dr. Claude Chailan

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Guest Editor

Director of the International Executive MBA, Regional Coordinator for Europe and Africa, EM Strasbourg Business School, 61 Avenue de la Forêt Noire, 67000 Strasbourg, France
Interests: marketing and strategy; business models; international brand management issues; brand portfolios; arts and marketing

Prof. Dr. Fabrizio D’Ascenzo

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Faculty of Economics, Sapienza University of Rome, 00161 Rome, Italy
Interests: technology innovation; business information systems; management of innovation; sustainability; digital transformation
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Prof. Dr. Juan Manuel Rodriguez-Poo

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Full Professor of Econometrics, Departamento de Economia, Universidad de Cantabria, Avenida de los Castros s/n, 39005 Santander, Cantabria
Interests: nonparametric and semiparametric techniques; panel data; microeconometrics

Prof. Dr. Alina Mihaela Dima

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Head of the UNESCO Department for Business Administration, Faculty of Business Administration in foreign languages, The Bucharest Academy of Economic Studies, Piata Romana Square, no.6, 1st District, Bucharest, Romania
Interests: international business and sustainable development; excellence models in higher education; innovation and competition leadership and turbulent society
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Innovation and Sustainability in a Turbulent Economic Environment represents the theme of the International Conference on Business Excellence (ICBE), 12th edition, 22–23 March, 2018.

This offers the opportunity to contribute and publish research findings and perspectives related to the innovation in a turbulent business environment, led by the set of improvements and changes in the economic, societal, and technological structures and processes towards the effort of reaching the sustainability goals.

This Special Issue will consist of selected papers from the 12^th edition of the International Conference on Business Excellence (ICBE), March 22–23, 2018, Bucharest, Romania. The International Conference on Business Excellence is an annual international scientific event organized by the by the Faculty of Business Administration in foreign languages (UNESCO Department for Business Administration) and the Society for Business Excellence, and will take place at The Bucharest University of Economic Studies.

The goal of this international conference is to reunite specialists from the triple-helix fields: university and research, consultancy and business, and policy-making, pursuant to optimizing the business added value by providing a stimulating environment for knowledge and knowhow business excellence transfers and alliance formation, and by ensuring a better understanding of new challenges, opportunities, and threats generated by sustainability and innovation in general and particularly in fields such as energy, social entrepreneurship, finance, marketing, digitization, and others.

Primarily, selected papers from the International Conference on Business Excellence (ICBE 2018) will be considered for publication. The papers submitted and selected for this Special Issue should neither have been previously published nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere, and are subject to a very rigorous peer review process.

Prof. Dr. Claude Chailan
Prof. Dr. Fabrizio D’Ascenzo
Prof. Dr. Juan Manuel Rodriguez-Poo
Prof. Dr. Alina Mihaela Dima
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Sustainability is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

Complexity in a turbulent economic environment
Challenges and strategies in business education
Energy, climate change, and sustainability
Social entrepreneurship for local change
Business internationalization and sustainability
Sustainability in the tertiary sector
Innovation and the knowledge economy
Business digitization
Driving marketing performance through innovation, creativity, and entrepreneurial focus
Business finances in a globalized world
Data science in a digital society
Strategic integrated reporting for sustainable businesses

Published Papers (11 papers)

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Research

17 pages, 5093 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Digitalization and Business Activity. The Struggle to Catch Up in CEE Countries

by Daniela Livia Trașcă, George Marian Ștefan, Daniela Nicoleta Sahlian, Răzvan Hoinaru and George-Laurențiu Șerban-Oprescu

Sustainability 2019, 11(8), 2204; https://doi.org/10.3390/su11082204 - 12 Apr 2019

Cited by 53 | Viewed by 9008

Abstract

Increases in productivity and competitiveness of an economy are based mostly on the actions of companies in terms of providing technical capital to workers and of operations efficiency (management, financial, recruitment, finding markets and suppliers, internal and external communication, etc.) through digitalization. This paper deals with the way in which the economies and companies in Central and Eastern European (CEE) countries manage to adapt to the trend that started, mostly after 2000, in digitalization; also, it analyzes the extent to which an increase in the degree of business upgrading via integrating digital technology into the business model leads to a surge in economic performances (productivity, exports) and, consequently, to a greater attractivity to foreign capital flows. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Innovation and Sustainability in a Turbulent Economic Environment–Selected Papers from the 12th International Conference on Business Excellence)

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16 pages, 314 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Disclosure Style and Its Determinants in Integrated Reports

by Aureliana-Geta Roman, Mihaela Mocanu and Răzvan Hoinaru

Sustainability 2019, 11(7), 1960; https://doi.org/10.3390/su11071960 - 02 Apr 2019

Cited by 36 | Viewed by 5302

Abstract

Integrated Reporting promotes a more cohesive and efficient approach to corporate reporting and aims to improve the quality of information available to providers of financial capital. The purpose of this paper was to investigate the determinants of readability and optimism which build the disclosure style of integrated reports. Our research draws on impression management theory and legitimacy theory, while also taking into consideration the cultural system of Hofstede with its further developments by Gray. Our sample consisted of 30 annual reports, extracted randomly from the Integrated Reporting examples database set up by the International Integrated Reporting Council. For the purposes of our investigation, we have carried out a multivariate regression analysis. Firstly, our results show that the higher the revenues of the reporting company, the more balanced their integrated reports, while younger companies use a more optimistic tone when reporting. Additionally, optimism seems to be inversely correlated with the length of the reports. Secondly, entities based in countries with a stronger tendency towards transparency surprisingly provide less readable integrated reports. It was also revealed that companies operating in non-environmentally sensitive industries, as well as International Financial Reporting Standards adopters deliver foggier and thus less readable integrated reports. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Innovation and Sustainability in a Turbulent Economic Environment–Selected Papers from the 12th International Conference on Business Excellence)

21 pages, 251 KiB

Open AccessArticle

The Impact of Financial Sector Development and Sophistication on Sustainable Economic Growth

by Cristian Valeriu Paun, Radu Cristian Musetescu, Vladimir Mihai Topan and Dan Constantin Danuletiu

Sustainability 2019, 11(6), 1713; https://doi.org/10.3390/su11061713 - 21 Mar 2019

Cited by 31 | Viewed by 6196

Abstract

The drivers of economic growth and development are among the most important issues explored by economic theory. Sustainability of economic development was previously linked by various economic schools of thought to natural resources (agriculture, land, minerals, metals etc.), labor force (including skills, productivity, and education), entrepreneurship or technology and innovation. Capital was later introduced by classical economic theory as the key element. Without significant capital accumulation, all other production factors remain idle. The value added of the production process is a result of the existence, the accessibility and the cost of capital. Therefore, the development and the sophistication of the financial sector has gradually become very important for any nation interested in sustainable growth. This paper investigates the impact of financial sector development, sophistication and performance on economic growth based on a panel regression methodology. We found statistically significant results that confirm the importance of this connection and that are very consistent with economic theory and previous relevant articles and studies. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Innovation and Sustainability in a Turbulent Economic Environment–Selected Papers from the 12th International Conference on Business Excellence)

27 pages, 810 KiB

Open AccessArticle

An Integrative Approach to Assess Subjective Well-Being. A Case Study on Romanian University Students

by George-Laurentiu Serban-Oprescu, Silvia Dedu and Anca-Teodora Serban-Oprescu

Sustainability 2019, 11(6), 1639; https://doi.org/10.3390/su11061639 - 18 Mar 2019

Cited by 5 | Viewed by 3193

Abstract

Subjective well-being (SWB) has presented long-lasting interest for researchers and the recent focus on the economic approach to SWB led to increased awareness of the topic. Despite the significant number of studies, conceptualizing and assessing SWB, along with finding predictors of SWB, need further empirical exploration. Following this rationale, using statistical and econometric methods (correlation analysis, Principal Component Analysis (PCA), Multinomial Logistic Regression (MLR)) applied on data collected via a survey on students from Bucharest University of Economic Studies (363 respondents), this study explores and provides insights that support a better understanding of defining and measuring SWB. Additionally, the study offers valuable information on the main determinants of SWB for a particular group, in this case, Romanian business students. According to findings, we argue that: (1) when assessing perception of life satisfaction and happiness, Romanian students tend to make slight distinctions between these two concepts; (2) question order effect is not significant, whereas negative sentiments (such as pessimism) impact self-assessment of happiness, but not of life satisfaction; (3) the main predictors for SWB are satisfaction with current activities, level of optimism/pessimism, health, and safety of the neighborhood. This paper proposes a new approach to modeling SWB by MLR, which features expressing the dependent variable with respect to the principal factors obtained by PCA. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Innovation and Sustainability in a Turbulent Economic Environment–Selected Papers from the 12th International Conference on Business Excellence)

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26 pages, 293 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Corporate Attitudes towards Big Data and Its Impact on Performance Management: A Qualitative Study

by Irina Bogdana Pugna, Adriana Duțescu and Oana Georgiana Stănilă

Sustainability 2019, 11(3), 684; https://doi.org/10.3390/su11030684 - 28 Jan 2019

Cited by 25 | Viewed by 8160

Abstract

This paper investigates the organizational challenges raised by Big Data and its impact on the business environment with a focus on performance management. We investigate managers’ perceptions, understanding, and attitudes relating to Big Data and its analytics, in terms of opportunities, extent, limitations, challenges, and implications, with specific reference to performance management. The research methodology we adopt is grounded theory: we develop a reflection guide based on research questions covering the impact and challenges of a data-driven culture on business, and the impact on performance management and the decision-making process. The results obtained from senior executives from 21 Romanian companies leads to a conceptual model that distils the major areas arising from the responses and the interrelationships between them. These reveal several key areas of managerial relevance and suggest fruitful action. In particular, we find that the most critical areas requiring intervention lie in the area of awareness and understanding, goal setting, assessing benefits and limitations, learning to trust data, and commitment to an embedded data-driven culture. In addition to changes within organizations themselves, there are also implications for other stakeholders, such as education providers. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Innovation and Sustainability in a Turbulent Economic Environment–Selected Papers from the 12th International Conference on Business Excellence)

20 pages, 828 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Sustainable Knowledge Management and Its Impact on the Performances of Biotechnology Organizations

by Alexandra Zbuchea, Florina Pînzaru, Mihail Busu, Sergiu-Octavian Stan and Alina Bârgăoanu

Sustainability 2019, 11(2), 359; https://doi.org/10.3390/su11020359 - 11 Jan 2019

Cited by 25 | Viewed by 4326

Abstract

Starting from the findings of specialized studies on knowledge management in the field of biotechnology, this paper aims to present the factors that underline sustainable performances of Romanian biotechnology organizations. Particularly, descriptive analysis of these factors has outlined a picture of the current situation of biotechnology in Romania. The design of an exploratory knowledge management model for organizations in the biotechnology sector was achieved and validated through a panel data model. Starting from a model of growth based on productivity, capital inflow, and human capital, three statistical hypotheses were validated by a time series data panel regression model using EViews 9.0 software. The data were collected for the enterprises active in the field of biotechnology for a period of nine years. The paper highlights the fact that the economic performance of biotechnology organizations is determined by the flow of capital, productivity, and the workforce. Knowledge-based growth strategies are essential in the econometric model presented. Nevertheless, in terms of knowledge management strategies, the sector has not reached its maturity, and full sustainability is not a norm. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Innovation and Sustainability in a Turbulent Economic Environment–Selected Papers from the 12th International Conference on Business Excellence)

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19 pages, 221 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Predictors of Quality Internship Programs—The Case of Romanian Business and Administration University Education

by Cristian Virgil Marinaș, Simona Irina Goia (Agoston), Ramona Ștefania Igreț and Laura Elena Marinaș

Sustainability 2018, 10(12), 4741; https://doi.org/10.3390/su10124741 - 12 Dec 2018

Cited by 7 | Viewed by 3817

Abstract

To a large extent, research regarding internship programs emphasizes their crucial role in the future career of students. Business professionals and educators acknowledge the positive influence in the engagement of companies towards future potential employees. However, the quality of these internship programs in Romania is sometimes questionable and further research is needed in the field. Our paper aims at identifying and analyzing the main factors which influence the quality of an internship program from Romanian business and administration students’ perspective. The findings and analysis of the current paper are based on a survey conducted on 458 undergraduate and master students of the Bucharest University of Economic Studies. By acknowledging these qualitative factors, third parties such as policy makers in educational sector, universities, and companies receive important information to better organize internships in order to meet students’ expectations and discover real high potential candidates. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Innovation and Sustainability in a Turbulent Economic Environment–Selected Papers from the 12th International Conference on Business Excellence)

22 pages, 327 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Factors Determining Desirability of Entrepreneurship in Romania

by Carmen Păunescu, Mihaela Cornelia Popescu and Matthias Duennweber

Sustainability 2018, 10(11), 3893; https://doi.org/10.3390/su10113893 - 26 Oct 2018

Cited by 46 | Viewed by 5371

Abstract

Studies in entrepreneurship have identified that a positive entrepreneurial attitude and willingness to start a business influence future entrepreneurial intention. In the study of entrepreneurial intention, there is a growing interest in understanding the factors that determine desirability of entrepreneurship. Earlier studies have identified that there is a significant correlation between individuals’ perceived desirability of entrepreneurship and their entrepreneurial intention. This study addressed the question of what factors determine the desirability of entrepreneurship and how these different factors affect the desire to become an entrepreneur. We discussed the key determinants of the desirability of entrepreneurship in Romania. Using the Amway Global Entrepreneurship Report (AGER) dataset for 2016, we examined the desirability of entrepreneurship among Romanian respondents by considering multiple factors indicated by the theory as being significant predictors of entrepreneurship: feasibility, social stability, and comfort with acquiring customers, as well as socio-demographic factors such as age, gender, education, income level and working status. The results of our regression analysis demonstrate that social stability and feasibility have the most impact on the desirability of entrepreneurship. In addition, we document that comfort with acquiring customers is perceived as an important factor in increasing the desirability of entrepreneurship. These results suggest that a good understanding of individuals’ social environment and their need for skills and capabilities may lead to greater entrepreneurial efficacy, which is fundamental to sustaining economic growth. Future research should be grounded on testing if level of education, working status and income influence desirability of entrepreneurship as our existing data did not prove that it did. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Innovation and Sustainability in a Turbulent Economic Environment–Selected Papers from the 12th International Conference on Business Excellence)

17 pages, 2602 KiB

Open AccessArticle

China-Angola Investment Model

by Liviu Stelian Begu, Maria Denisa Vasilescu, Larisa Stanila and Roxana Clodnitchi

Sustainability 2018, 10(8), 2936; https://doi.org/10.3390/su10082936 - 18 Aug 2018

Cited by 8 | Viewed by 10342

Abstract

In the aftermath of Angola’s civil war, strong economic relations developed between the country and the People’s Republic of China. Our study addresses China’s investment risks in Angola, considering an infrastructure-for-petroleum partnership between these two countries. The main working hypothesis is that the recovery of Chinese investments made in Angola is has translated into thousands of barrels of petroleum being imported daily from Angola. We analyzed the main economic, social, and political indicators that describe the situation in Angola that could impact the recovery of Chinese loans in the form of oil exports. Data processing implied involved regression-based imputation, MinMax data normalization, the use of the Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP), and econometric analysis, next to the construction of a composite risk indicator. The results of the econometric analysis highlighted that an increase in the composite risk indicator of 1% leads to a decrease in the quantity of petroleum exported by almost 6377 barrels per day. Because, at least in the short run, the economic diversification in Angola is weak, and the most important asset is its oil, the partnership with China will continue to exist. This cooperation model represents a source of economic growth and infrastructure development for Angola and a source of energy that fuels China—one of the most powerful economies in the world. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Innovation and Sustainability in a Turbulent Economic Environment–Selected Papers from the 12th International Conference on Business Excellence)

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13 pages, 385 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Models for Analyzing the Dependencies between Indicators for a Circular Economy in the European Union

by Adrian Dumitru Tantau, Maria Alexandra Maassen and Laurentiu Fratila

Sustainability 2018, 10(7), 2141; https://doi.org/10.3390/su10072141 - 22 Jun 2018

Cited by 41 | Viewed by 7140

Abstract

The circular economy has become one of the main strategic issues on a global scale in the striving towards achieving sustainable economic systems. The traditional model of production, consumption and disposal is being transformed into a recycling and waste integration process from the beginning of the production cycle of a product until its full use by the consumers. While measuring the progress towards a circular economy can be a challenging factor, several indicators can be used to evaluate developments in this direction. That is why recycling in general, as well as recycling of municipal waste, have become a main strategic issue in the process towards implementation of circular economy principles. The main objective of the paper is to elaborate a panel regression model for determining the dependency between main indicators, that are indicating progress of the circular economy in Europe, such as the recycling rate of municipal waste, circular material use rate, R&D expenditure by all sectors, trade in recyclable raw materials and environmental tax revenues, resource productivity and domestic material consumption. Furthermore, the fixed and random effects regression models estimations are included and tested through the Durbin–Hausman–Wu statistic. The research in this study is based on the analysis of regressions in the circular economy fields in the European Union and intends to contribute to the research in the field, being an emerging scientific topic due to changing technological, economic and environmental factors. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Innovation and Sustainability in a Turbulent Economic Environment–Selected Papers from the 12th International Conference on Business Excellence)

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17 pages, 1321 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Culture as a Prerequisite for Sustainable Development. An Investigation into the Process of Cultural Content Digitisation in Romania

by Mina Fanea-Ivanovici

Sustainability 2018, 10(6), 1859; https://doi.org/10.3390/su10061859 - 04 Jun 2018

Cited by 13 | Viewed by 4793

Abstract

In an age of rapid technological changes, new ways of cultural production–consumption and dissemination–access to cultural content are creating great opportunities for promoting cultural heritage at home and abroad as a prerequisite for sustainable development. The aims of this paper are to scrutinize the main opportunities of the process of cultural content digitisation with a focus on Romania and to highlight the main fields in which the country is still lagging behind. The article discusses technical internet-related endowment and use of internet by households in urban and rural areas, the existing digital cultural content, the importance of open access, e-accessibility, digital archives, e-museums, e-libraries, etc., as well as the main national and European strategies and agendas that Romania has based its cultural digitisation and heritage preservation priorities on. The paper is an empirical inquiry into the progress achieved, the positioning among the other European countries and the perspectives of cultural digitisation for Romania. Such matters are important determinants of smart, sustainable and inclusive growth, as long as access to public services and cultural content is a major objective of Europe 2020 Strategy. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Innovation and Sustainability in a Turbulent Economic Environment–Selected Papers from the 12th International Conference on Business Excellence)

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