THE ADVERTISING MARKET OF EUROPEAN UNION COUNTRIES – THE EVOLUTION IN RECENT YEARS

This paper seeks to highlight how the EU advertising market has evolved in recent years, as well as the link between the macroeconomic outcomes of the analyzed countries and the size of this market. According to the analyzed statistical data provided by Eurostat in recent years for which we have data, the advertising market (assessed by the Turnover or gross premiums written indicator) registered an upward trend in the EU, with the old EU members accounting about 90% of the total market, and the new member states just over 10%. The number of market operators also increased, with about 75% of them operating at the level of the old EU members. The size of the advertising markets at the level of the analyzed countries is closely linked to the recorded macroeconomic outcomes, with a direct and strong link between the gross premiums written and the Gross domestic product. The link has been studied both across EU countries and separately for the two categories of old states (EU - 15) and new EU members

INFORMATION TECHONOLOGY AND LIFELONG EDUCATION – IMPLICATIONS ON THE EU EMPLOYED POPULATION

The quality and the skills of human resources are important factors in the success of every organization wherever it act. Moreover this is really true in a very competitive market such as European Union. In the European Union the number of persons who are taking part in high education studies after the age of 25 years has seen an upward trend in recent years, increasing thus the share of employed graduates of tertiary education in total employment over 25 years. This increase is generated by the access to education forms adapted in terms of time and location of training. The appearance and development of these forms can be explained by the use of information technology (Internet access). Statistics show that in the EU, household access to the Internet and its frequency of use was also increasing, approximately 80% of all persons aged 16 to 74 years have ever used this information and communication tool

INSIGHTS INTO QUALITATIVE VARIABLES ASSESSMENT IN MARKETING RESEARCH

In this paper we present a number of issues to be taken into account in assessing the marketing qualitative variables. Thus, the opinions, the preferences, the attitudes, etc. of the consumers are qualitative variables whose measurement requires the use of different scales presented in the literature and, where appropriate, the researcher must develop scales adapted to the particularities of the study undertaken. Using a certain scale it is not random action. The literature presents both comparative methods and non-comparative scaling methods. Each of these categories generates certain types of information, and also they are complementary in the evaluation of various products, brands, organizations etc. Thus, if in a non-comparative scaling method can get information about how a product is evaluated (favorable or unfavorable, for example) by the respondents, comparative scaling method allows us to determine where that product is in a series of investigated competing products. Another aspect to be taken into account in the construction of the scales is the number of levels used. It is intended to obtain information with high degree of detail, but without the risk of increasing the rate of non-response due to inability of respondents to make assessments through scales with too many levels. Finally, the expression used to collect information from respondents is essential in obtaining accurate and comparable information, with the emphasis on avoiding ambiguity in drawing scales

PREFERENCES OF YOUTH IN RELATION TO THE ORIGIN OF BRANDS - ROMANIAN AND FOREIGN - AND ITS MAIN MOTIVATION

This paper is based on some results of a direct research conducted among youth 18-30, students of the Faculty of Economic Sciences of the Vasile Alecsandri University of Bacau. The research was conducted in the month of April 2016 on a sample of 100 students selected by group sampling scheme and has an exploratory character offering a guideline on youth preference for Romanian or foreign brands for product categories: food products, alcohol beverages, personal hygiene products, cosmetics, cleaning products, clothing, footwear, consumer electronics and cars. They are also shown and the main reasons underlying preferences in terms of brand origin. The results of study highlights that the youth prefer in a greater extent Romanian food products compared to foreign ones, but, for products encompassing high technology (cars, appliances and electronics) and for fashion products (clothing and footwear) over 50% of respondents prefer foreign brands

RECENT EVOLUTION OF MARKET RESEARCH AND PUBLIC OPINION POLLING BUSINESS IN THE EU COUNTRIES

The purpose of this paper is to highlight the evolution of the market research and public opinion polling business in the EU countries in recent years (after 2010). Using the Turnover or gross premiums written indicator, it was found that the analyzed business experienced an upward trend over the period 2010-2015, but not for all EU countries, some of them experiencing decreasing of the indicator. At the same time, parallel with the increase of the Turnover or gross premiums written at the level of the EU, there was a slight decrease of the number of enterprises and number of persons employed in the market research and the public polling activity, a decrease which was more pronounced at the level of the old EU Member States. The paper also seeks to highlight the link between the macroeconomic outcomes and market size of market research and public opinion polling across EU countries, noting the existence of a direct and strong relationship between Gross domestic product and Turnover or gross premiums Written both at EU-28 level and by categories of old and new member states. The analysis was based on official statistical data provided by Eurostat

YOUNG PEOPLE'S PREFERENCES FOR ROMANIAN AGRO ALIMENTARY GOODS

Based on the results of a research undertaken among young people (18-30 years), students of the Faculty of Economic Sciences of the Vasile Alecsandri University of Bacau, this paper reveals their preference for local or foreign brands (on the Romanian market) for various categories of food products. It is also highlighted their views on certain essential evaluation criteria for food products (sanogenetic potential, value for money, appearance, taste, availability within commercial network, promotions, image), comparing Romanian and foreign products. The survey shows that the preference for Romanian brands applies particularly to: eggs, bakery products, grain mill, milk and dairy products, fruits and vegetables, meat and meat products (over 50% of the investigated people). A large proportion of young people believes that Romanian products are tastier and healthier than foreign ones, the better image enjoyed by foreign brands being a result of the promotion and packaging of products and not the quality of product; they also believe that Romanian brands are insufficiently promoted nationally, perceiving offer of imported products as being broader than the local one. The research was conducted on a sample of 100 students selected by the group sampling scheme and has an exploratory role for the community of 18-30 years people in Romania, offering, for it, only an indicative perspective on the raised issues

CONSIDERATIONS ON CONSUMER PERCEIVED RISK

In this article we identified a number of factors influencing the consumers’ perceived risk. In the first part we conducted a review of the main issues that define the perceived risk by the consumer at the time of purchase, some of the lines of action of the organizations to diminish this risk perception and a number of influencing factors presented in the literature, with significant impact on the intensity with which risk is perceived by consumers. The second part of the article is based on the statistical information regarding e-commerce market, market in which the perceived risk plays an important role in the purchasing decision. Thus, based on available official statistics provided by Eurostat we have revealed the existence of certain links between electronic commerce and orientation towards risk and income levels, age and consumer educational level. The review is not intended to be exhaustive, the study taking into consideration only those links that can be identified from using official statistical data

LANDMARKS ON THE EVOLUTION OF E-COMMERCE IN THE EUROPEAN UNION

In this paper are presented and analyzed a number of statistical indicators to highlight the size and the trends in the European e-commerce market in recent years, namely - the turnover of e-commerce, the share of turnover from e-commerce in total turnover of the organizations, the share of enterprises conducting online sales in total enterprises, the population share which shop online in total population. Information is presented both aggregated and individualized, allowing highlighting disparities between European states. The paper also captures a number of correlations between the orientation to online purchasing and level of development of European countries, on the one hand and access to technology on the other. The survey is based on official statistics provided by Eurostat (data from European Union countries) and information provided by EMOTA - European Multi-channel and Online Trade Association - (data pooled across all European countries)

PARTICULARITIES OF CONSUMER BEHAVIOR IN THE COSMETICS MARKET

Based on some results of a research organized in the county of Bacau on consumers of cosmetics, using the questionnaire, this article analyses a number of issues with regard to consumer behavior, namely: cosmetics brand most commonly purchased by consumers, cosmetics category to which are allocated the largest sums of money, the amounts of money that consumers are willing to spend per month to purchase these types of products, the importance of some of the main criteria considered when buying cosmetic products and differences manifested in categories of respondents by a number of variables such as age, sex, marital status, income and living environment. The research was conducted using a sample of 500 respondents non-randomly selected, so that the results presented refer only to the studied sample, being a guide to community from which it was extracted

Quelques observations sur la coordination et la subordination dans la prose de l'écrivain roumain Ion Créanga

Nous nous proposons d’entreprendre un examen de la structure grammaticale de deux textes de l’écrivain roumain Ion Créanga dans le but de voir si cette recherche pourrait servir comme point de départ pour l’étude de certains aspects stylistiques de la prose de l’écrivain.Facultad de Humanidades y Ciencias de la Educació