Telework: Before and after COVID-19

Telework is, today, a voluntary form of work organization in which the employee is located outside the employer’s premises, at home or elsewhere, under a telework contract, uses information and communication technologies (ICT) and works according to a predetermined schedule on the basis of an agreed supervisory mechanism and an online reporting system on the work undertaken

Telework: Before and after COVID-19

Telework is, today, a voluntary form of work organization in which the employee is located outside the employer’s premises, at home or elsewhere, under a telework contract, uses information and communication technologies (ICT) and works according to a predetermined schedule on the basis of an agreed supervisory mechanism and an online reporting system on the work undertaken

Resilience Innovations and the Use of Food Order & Delivery Platforms by the Romanian Restaurants during the COVID-19 Pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic, the blocking of activity by the government and the restrictions imposed in Romania had detrimental effects on the activity of restaurants, imposing their adaptation to new situations and generating creative innovations that caused changes in the way restaurants deliver food to consumers through food order & delivery platforms. Exploring the nature and implications of such innovations on resilience, this study analyzes their impact on the attitude and intention to use food delivery platforms by restaurant managers in Romania during the COVID-19 pandemic. Through the proposed structural model, the authors integrate innovations in resilience by joining together the new components of the established TAM model. This research was conducted on a sample of 402 restaurant managers in Romania. The data was collected based on a questionnaire, and it was analyzed with the SmartPLS3 software. The results of the study show that the four variables of innovation, namely business strategy innovations, technological innovations, financial innovations and social innovations, exert different effects on behavioral intention and attitude towards using the order & delivery platforms. The results of the study can be key points in the more efficient management of material, financial and human resources, thus improving the commercial performance of restaurants

Resilience Innovations and the Use of Food Order & Delivery Platforms by the Romanian Restaurants during the COVID-19 Pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic, the blocking of activity by the government and the restrictions imposed in Romania had detrimental effects on the activity of restaurants, imposing their adaptation to new situations and generating creative innovations that caused changes in the way restaurants deliver food to consumers through food order & delivery platforms. Exploring the nature and implications of such innovations on resilience, this study analyzes their impact on the attitude and intention to use food delivery platforms by restaurant managers in Romania during the COVID-19 pandemic. Through the proposed structural model, the authors integrate innovations in resilience by joining together the new components of the established TAM model. This research was conducted on a sample of 402 restaurant managers in Romania. The data was collected based on a questionnaire, and it was analyzed with the SmartPLS3 software. The results of the study show that the four variables of innovation, namely business strategy innovations, technological innovations, financial innovations and social innovations, exert different effects on behavioral intention and attitude towards using the order & delivery platforms. The results of the study can be key points in the more efficient management of material, financial and human resources, thus improving the commercial performance of restaurants

Drivers and Barriers in Using Industry 4.0: A Perspective of SMEs in Romania

Considering the worldwide evolutionary stage of Industry 4.0, this study wants to fill in a lack of information and decision-making, trying to answer a question about the level of preparation of Romanian Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) regarding the implementation of the new technology. The main purpose of this article is to identify the opinions and perceptions of SME managers in Romania on the drivers and barriers of implementing Industry 4.0 technology for business development. The research method used in the study was analyzed by sampling using the questionnaire as a data collection tool. It includes closed questions, measured with a nominal and orderly scale. 176 managers provided complete and useful answers to this research. The collected data were analyzed with the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) package using frequency tables, contingency tables, and main component analysis. Major contributions from research have highlighted the fact that Romania is in a full transition process from industry 2.0 to industry 4.0. There was also a high level of knowledge of the new Industry 4.0 technology, and a desire to implement it in the Romanian SMEs, as well as the low level of resources needed to implement it

Assessing the Benefits of the Sustainability Reporting Practices in the Top Romanian Companies

The concept of sustainability reporting has been addressed by experts worldwide and is defined as the process of communicating the social and environmental effects of the economic actions of organizations to special interest groups within society in general. The main purpose of this research was to identify and analyze the opinions of the real benefits obtained by large companies in Romania following the elaboration of sustainability reports and their contribution to the development of a sustainable economy. A quantitative marketing research was carried out on the sample randomly extracted from a target community of the largest 5750 companies across 35 counties that were active in strategic priority areas of Romania. Both explicitly and implicitly, the research resulted in essential aspects related to the correlation of the sustainability strategy with sustainability reporting, how sustainable development goals contribute to improving all of the processes included in the integrated company management system, how the internal and external benefits can contribute to increasing economic, social, and environmental performance, and building sustainable relationships with shareholders, employees, and stakeholders. In addition, the findings show that aligning a sustainability strategy with a global business strategy and including sustainability reporting requirements (non-financial) are important concerns at the level of the top companies in Romania

Intention to Use Accounting Platforms in Romania: A Quantitative Study on Sustainability and Social Influence

Technological innovation evolves through the use of information systems and this study highlights the intentions of using accounting platforms by conducting a quantitative study on sustainability and its social influence. The purpose of this study is to investigate the factors that influence the acceptance and use by company managers of accounting platforms available online by developing the unified theory of acceptance and use of technology (UTAUT) construct model. The research method used in the quantitative study was the sample survey, using the online questionnaire as a data collection tool. A number of 401 companies provided complete and useful answers to this research. The major contributions of the research were the use of two variables considered significant in the study: perceived credibility (PC) and perception of risk (PR). The results of the study showed that performance expectancy (PE), social influence (SI), and perceived risk (PR) have a positive influence on the intention to use the accounting platforms available online, while perceived credibility shows a much more significant and stronger influence

The Sustainability of Romanian SMEs and Their Involvement in the Circular Economy

Sustainability involves extending the relational framework of SMEs outside the sphere of economic activity by justifying and legitimizing actions with a social impact on the environment. Links with the circular economy are achieved through the economic and environmental dimensions and through corporate social responsibility as a component of sustainable development. The main purpose of the paper was to determine the level of involvement of Romanian SMEs in activities related to the circular economy. The sample survey conducted among SME managers offered the advantage of collecting a large amount of direct information on the activities undertaken, the size of the investments and the nature of the funding sources used over the last five years. In this descriptive research, the process of setting up a representative sample of 384 enterprises was carried out by random sampling. The major contributions of the research project are to outline the contribution of Romanian SMEs to the development of a sustainable economy through their involvement in specific activities, the size of the investments made, and the level of participation of representatives of the enterprises in courses in order to identify new sources of financing and positive solutions in order to implement the principles of the circular economy

The Impact of Big Data Analytics on Company Performance in Supply Chain Management

Big data analytics can add value and provide a new perspective by improving predictive analysis and modeling practices. This research is centered on supply-chain management and how big data analytics can help Romanian supply-chain companies assess their experience, strategies, and professional capabilities in successfully implementing big data analytics, as well as assessing the tools needed to achieve these goals, including the results of implementation and performance achievement based on them. The research method used in the quantitative study was a sampling survey, using a questionnaire as a data collection tool. It included closed questions, measured with nominal and ordinal scales. A total of 205 managers provided complete and useful answers for this research. The collected data were analyzed with the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) package using frequency tables, contingency tables, and main component analysis. The major contributions of this research highlight the fact that companies are concerned with identifying new statistical methods, tools, and approaches, such as cloud computing and security technologies, that need to be rigorously explored