IMPACT OF DIGITALIZATION IN MANAGEMENT OF INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS IN ORGANIC AGRICULTURE. WAYS TO RESPOND TO CHALLENGES. USH PRO BUSINESS, INTER -BIO, WALLACHIA HUB STUDY CASE

AbstractDigital technologies are used in an increasingly in everyday life, in any aspects of human activities. Pandemics like Corona Virus imposed stricter rules for health and people, most probably, will prefer to be safer with organic products. Even before the crises, organic agriculture especially was on the path to digitalization. Now we realize better that Digitally Conducted Organic Agri-food (DCOA) solutions will emerge even faster. This paper is investigating the trends of evolution of digital transformation in organic agri-food industry and their impact on trade flows with food products. We look at the new emerging business models triggered by the DCOA solutions and the managerial challenges this will require especially for innovative start ups, farmers and SMEs in agri-food sector. Finally, we argue that university led innovation ecosystem, like the study case presented, may offer knowledge hubs for farmers, processors and sector branch organizations in the organic sector

European Union and Big Four’s Position Towards the 16+1 Cooperation Platform

The aim of the present paper is to investigate the position towards the 16+1 framework from the standpoint of the EU as an entity and also the four largest EU countries in terms of GDP, namely Germany, Great Britain, France and Italy. The Big Four are the main recipients of Chinese FDI and are also the most active European exporters to China, while CEE concentrates only a small share of the EU-Chinese trade and investment flows. However, the Big Four are apprehensive with regard to China’s rising competitiveness through national reform policies (such as China 2025 Program) but also via acquisition of high-tech companies. In the competition with a stronger China, these countries and especially Germany consider that the Chinese presence in CEE, alongside the proposed investment projects in infrastructure, including harbours, represent a threat to their established positions in this region and their companies will lose market shares and big infrastructure contracts. Seen from another perspective, in the literature the new framework is considered as a lobby platform, intended to influence the EU decisions through CEE players, which is incompatible with the strategic Sino-EU partnership. As a matter of fact, the EU foreign policy is incoherent in major aspects, including EU-China relation as well. Therefore our investigation focuses on three main aspects. First, we explain how the lack of harmonization between the Big Four and the other EU member states is influencing EU policy towards China. Conferring the Big Four observer status at the 16+1 summits might mitigate tensions. Second we investigate whether the Big Four detain the supremacy in the EU to the detriment of the EU periphery. Third, we underline that the EU needs a common vision towards the Eurasian cooperation, as it includes a new element: the Belt and Road Initiative. One cannot support the BRI by criticizing the 16+1, as the latter is considered by the Chinese authorities a significant component of the BRI. In conclusion, if the CEE countries become a bridge or a wall in the Chinese-EU relations depends only on the ability of all actors to have a balanced relationship with each other

European Union and Big Four’s Position Towards the 16+1 Cooperation Platform

The aim of the present paper is to investigate the position towards the 16+1 framework from the standpoint of the EU as an entity and also the four largest EU countries in terms of GDP, namely Germany, Great Britain, France and Italy. The Big Four are the main recipients of Chinese FDI and are also the most active European exporters to China, while CEE concentrates only a small share of the EU-Chinese trade and investment flows. However, the Big Four are apprehensive with regard to China’s rising competitiveness through national reform policies (such as China 2025 Program) but also via acquisition of high-tech companies. In the competition with a stronger China, these countries and especially Germany consider that the Chinese presence in CEE, alongside the proposed investment projects in infrastructure, including harbours, represent a threat to their established positions in this region and their companies will lose market shares and big infrastructure contracts. Seen from another perspective, in the literature the new framework is considered as a lobby platform, intended to influence the EU decisions through CEE players, which is incompatible with the strategic Sino-EU partnership. As a matter of fact, the EU foreign policy is incoherent in major aspects, including EU-China relation as well. Therefore our investigation focuses on three main aspects. First, we explain how the lack of harmonization between the Big Four and the other EU member states is influencing EU policy towards China. Conferring the Big Four observer status at the 16+1 summits might mitigate tensions. Second we investigate whether the Big Four detain the supremacy in the EU to the detriment of the EU periphery. Third, we underline that the EU needs a common vision towards the Eurasian cooperation, as it includes a new element: the Belt and Road Initiative. One cannot support the BRI by criticizing the 16+1, as the latter is considered by the Chinese authorities a significant component of the BRI. In conclusion, if the CEE countries become a bridge or a wall in the Chinese-EU relations depends only on the ability of all actors to have a balanced relationship with each other

Impact of climate changes on food safety related issues in the case of Romania

Climate change and economic development have both an increasing impact on human health and on the quality of life. The reverse assumption is also true, since, for improving economic and social development and well-being, the human activity is affecting the environment. This paper presents some of the alarm signals of various international institutions and entities regarding several challenges the current modern society is facing: climate change, disruptive weather events, food safety implications, health related issues, economic losses. Based on previous studies which demonstrated a direct connection between climate changes and weather conditions and the outbreak of infectious diseases and threats for the food safety chain, the main research objective is to determine whether this hypothesis is also valid in the case of Romania. Thus, the conducted analysis takes into consideration variations of temperature and precipitation in relation to new cases of food-borne diseases in order to determine if this connection is statistically significant as it was in other regions of Europe and of the world previously examined by scholars

Knowledge transfer between universities and smes and regional development. The role of the clusters as communities of practice

The Exchange of knowledge between universities and SMEs became a source of sustainable competitive advantages. The innovation capacity of SMEs is under pressure for various reasons since knowledge management is more costly and innovation readiness more difficult to be achieved. Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) became in this context critical players in the knowledge-based economy to interact with small companies. The traditional functions of universities are the generation of knowledge (research) and its transmission (teaching) are reconsidered in order to better serve the managers

Analysis of the Situation of Renewable and Non-Renewable Energy Consumption in the European Union

In this article, the authors present the results of research undertaken in relation to the situation regarding renewable and non-renewable energy reserves in the European Union, as well as the way in which this energy is consumed. The general view presented regarding energy resources around the world is that oil, natural gas and coal are being exhausted at an alarming rate and if we continue to exploit these oil resources at our current pace, we will see a massive depletion in energy resources over the next 41 years. The authors also focus on representing the intensity of greenhouse gas emissions from energy consumption, demonstrating that it has shown a slight decrease in the European Union. The resources and consumption of renewable and non-renewable energy were analyzed in close interdependence with these indicators under study, such as final energy consumption, renewable energy and total energy production, in order to give a correct interpretation of how these resources are used. At the same time, starting from the fact that the world economy is currently facing a cluster of crises (pandemic, financial-economic, energy, general resources), it was deemed important to highlight the fact that the total production of energy demonstrated an oscillating trend during this period

The Effects of Health Crisis on Economic Growth, Health and Movement of Population

The COVID-19 pandemic crisis, which was triggered in 2019 with oscillating evolution in 2020 and 2021, was a factor that has had dramatic effects on the economic growth of countries worldwide. In the context of the pandemic crisis, population health has deteriorated; education and economic activity in all the countries around the world have been affected. The main purpose of this paper is to highlight the special situations that humanity is experiencing as a result of the unprecedented effects that the COVID-19 crisis is having on the socioeconomic evolution. Specific statistical econometric methods (such as analysis of linear correlations, multiple linear regression, analysis based on dynamics indicators, and spectral analysis, comparability based on indices) were applied to highlight the evolution and future prospects of the COVID-19 virus worldwide. The COVID-19 crisis has generated another major issue for mankind, along with global warming and the energy transition, namely, population health. For this reason, in this study, we focused on the impact of the COVID-19 crisis on population health in a broader context; the sustained growth of populations in developing countries and aging populations in developed economies

The Effects of Health Crisis on Economic Growth, Health and Movement of Population

The COVID-19 pandemic crisis, which was triggered in 2019 with oscillating evolution in 2020 and 2021, was a factor that has had dramatic effects on the economic growth of countries worldwide. In the context of the pandemic crisis, population health has deteriorated; education and economic activity in all the countries around the world have been affected. The main purpose of this paper is to highlight the special situations that humanity is experiencing as a result of the unprecedented effects that the COVID-19 crisis is having on the socioeconomic evolution. Specific statistical econometric methods (such as analysis of linear correlations, multiple linear regression, analysis based on dynamics indicators, and spectral analysis, comparability based on indices) were applied to highlight the evolution and future prospects of the COVID-19 virus worldwide. The COVID-19 crisis has generated another major issue for mankind, along with global warming and the energy transition, namely, population health. For this reason, in this study, we focused on the impact of the COVID-19 crisis on population health in a broader context; the sustained growth of populations in developing countries and aging populations in developed economies

43 -50 Inside the Core of Corruption from the Health System

Abstract The paper presents several definitions of the corruption phenomenon and tries to reveal that the fight against it is a complex challenge

Energy Transition in Non-Euro Countries from Central and Eastern Europe: Evidence from Panel Vector Error Correction Model

The countries of Central and Eastern Europe, from the non-euro area, have completed the process of economic transition before joining the European Union. Achieving a certain level of economic development and membership in the European Union have generated their involvement in a new transition process, namely the energy transition. Concerns about promoting the low carbon economy have become increasingly complex for those countries that are interested in the environmental impact of economic activity. This study aims to analyze the process of energy transition in the countries of Central and Eastern Europe on the basis of the causality relationship among specific variables for the period 1990–2018. The study is based on cross-sectional panel data and the panel vector error correction model (PVECM). The efforts made by these countries by joining the European Union have generated economic development, with positive effects being recorded on the protection of the environment, a fact due to the strict regulations adopted and rigorous implementation at the national level. Foreign capital had a positive impact on the transition to a low carbon economy because most of the FDI flows attracted by the non-euro countries in the CEE come from Western Europe, i.e., from EU member countries, located either among the founders or among the countries that joined during the first waves of union expansion. Membership in the European Union facilitates the energy transition process for the non-euro countries of Central and Eastern Europe, but the new geopolitical events generate the reconfiguration of the European strategy of considering the need to ensure energy security