The Destination Experience Through Stopover Tourism – Bucharest Case Study

Over the years, the evolution of the air transport sector has determined important changes in the tourism industry. One of the consequences of the liberalization of air transport has been the development of the “hub-and-spoke” system, used by traditional airlines in order to be more efficient in a highly competitive environment. As air traffic significantly developed worldwide, “hubs” became highly connected places concentrating an increasing number of transit passengers. At the same time, the liberalization of the airline industry has stimulated both airline and airport competition, therefore, vertical partnerships have become an interesting option for airlines, as well as airports. Moreover, considering that transiting traffic represents a potential tourism market, tourism organizations have also started to get involved in the process. “Stopover tourism” is a new type of tourism based on the partnership between airlines, airports and tourism organizations, with the purpose to turn transiting passengers into stayover tourists. This paper focuses on building a better understanding of how “stopover tourism” type programs can enhance tourism development, identifying the characteristics of this form of tourism and the measures that need to be taken by the authorities in order to encourage its development and investigates the possibility of implementing it in Romania. In order to achieve these objectives, the research was conducted using analysis of secondary data included in several scientific journals and publication, as well as primary data collection, through qualitative research, having as interviewees, experts from the airline industry and from tourism organizations in Romani

Price search behaviour in digital markets – A perspective from Romania

Price represents a source of information customers may rely on in the buying decision making process. The literature in this area shows that on the Internet, the process of searching for price information is more complex than on traditional stores, being influenced by various factors. This paper aims to identify and describe the relations between two categories of variables. On the one hand there are the variables related to the price searching behaviour on the online environment, and on the other hand there are the variables related to the buying process. This research is based on a survey, the sample consisting of 1112 online buyers. The relationships between these variables were represented through a conceptual model based on a structural equation modeling approach. The main findings of the research show that the more a customer searches for price information online, the more he/she acquires abilities to search, becoming more predisposed to perceive a better value from shopping online and intending more to purchase from the Internet. The managerial implications concern the communication strategies adopted by online stores, the information provided by them influencing the perceived value of doing online shopping and the buying intentions on the Internet

Sustainable Social and Individual Implications of Telework: A New Insight into the Romanian Labor Market

This research aims to evaluate the individual and social implications of telework, along with the foreseeable permanent result that could be generated. Consistent with this objective, a survey has been carried out on a sample of 1180 Romanian employees, on which a model has been developed, based on structural equation modelling. The model includes five latent variables, on the one hand targeting telework features and on the other hand, its possible effects on individuals and society. At an individual level, the study results emphasize that telework could contribute to a better work–life balance and could also help teleworkers to develop specific teleworking abilities. At a social level, telework could generate sustainable effects targeting the long-term management of the work force and providing solutions to potential problems at local community levels. The managerial implications of this study are directed toward the need to implement a series of sustainable human resource management strategies and efficient employee training and development programs. Moreover, organizations need to be more proactive in assuming corporate social responsibilities

Facile Microwave Assisted Synthesis of Silver Nanostars for Ultrasensitive Detection of Biological Analytes by SERS

We report a very simple, rapid and reproducible method for the fabrication of anisotropic silver nanostars (AgNS) that can be successfully used as highly efficient SERS substrates for different bioanalytes, even in the case of a near-infra-red (NIR) excitation laser. The nanostars have been synthesized using the chemical reduction of Ag+ ions by trisodium citrate. This is the first research reporting the synthesis of AgNS using only trisodium citrate as a reducing and stabilizing agent. The key elements of this original synthesis procedure are rapid hydrothermal synthesis of silver nanostars followed by a cooling down procedure by immersion in a water bath. The synthesis was performed in a sealed bottom flask homogenously heated and brought to a boil in a microwave oven. After 60 s, the colloidal solution was cooled down to room temperature by immersion in a water bath at 35 °C. The as-synthesized AgNS were washed by centrifugation and used for SERS analysis of test molecules (methylene blue) as well as biological analytes: pharmaceutical compounds with various Raman cross sections (doxorubicin, atenolol & metoprolol), cell lysates and amino acids (methionine & cysteine). UV-Vis absorption spectroscopy, (Scanning) Transmission Electron Microscopy ((S)TEM) and Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) have been employed for investigating nanostars’ physical properties