Author: Ionut Constantin

Introduction. The concept of smart city has become more and more important and “useful” in recent years because of the negative effects on the environment and human health. Thus, researchers have sought to find solutions to improve housing in increasingly urbanized cities.

Aim of the study. This article brings to the reader a certain structure in terms of analyzing the concept of smart city, as well as the dissemination of the most important factors to consider when a city moves from its original state to a sustainable and intelligent governance of the city. Smart City Governance aims to create new forms of human collaboration by using ICTs to achieve better results and more open government processes. This article highlights the fact that public administration and intelligent governance is a matter of complex processes of institutional change and we should recognize the political nature of the visions of socio-technological governance.
Keywords: smart city, sustainable management, urban city

Introduction. The present study focused on investigating entrepreneurial intention in Romania using a technique specific to the field of data mining, respectively classification trees. The main idea of the study is to identify the probabilities of an individual being classified as a potential entrepreneur, having as a starting point a series of socio-demographic characteristics, but also perceptions, beliefs and opinions on issues related to training, experience and skills.

Aim of the study. The analysis takes into account some perceptions of the institutional support that authorities can provide to the entrepreneurial ecosystem. After analyzing 1522 responses to a questionnaire, it was concluded on the one hand that most respondents are not attracted to the idea of launching their own businesses, while potential entrepreneurs are characterized by a high confidence in their skills, in turn know individuals who have become entrepreneurs, these evidence being in line with other studies in the field, these aspects characterizing other groups of individuals and other societies. The low importance of the variables that describe age, gender and fear of failure in building the model implies that in Romania these characteristics do not significantly influence the decision of individuals to become entrepreneurs.
Keywords: entrepreneurial intention, classification trees, GEM database, self-confidence
JEL Classification: C38, C82, L26, M13

Introduction. The twenty-first-century business world requires a new leadership paradigm based on elements such as vision, extra effort, commitment and pro-action. Consequently, the leaders should be not only visionary and positive, but also charismatic and transformational. The theorization of charismatic leadership has become a challenging subject in the literature in the last decades.

Aim of the study. The goals of the paper are to define the concept of charismatic leadership and to exemplify it in the case of Jack Ma, a famous Chinese entrepreneur. The methodology was based on a quantitative research method and a case study. The paper underlines the existence of a strong relationship between the charismatic leader and his followers. Also, it identifies some of the key characteristics of a charismatic leader by analysing the case of Jack Ma.
Keywords: charismatic leadership, leader, Jack Ma, Alibaba
JEL Classification: M1, M19

Introduction. Anywhere in the world and in any market, the firms are facing more and more a major challenge to meet growing customer demand towards addressing specific business or operational needs of their customers. In a globalization era, a firm’s customers are more oriented on how to create value for their own customers and such they are looking for an approach shift from their providers. Nowadays, the customers are expecting from their providers to better understand the value creation process in their organization.

Aim of the study. Through knowledge combination, the provider and the customer are acting like partners in the co-production of a customer solution to solve a specific customer business requirement. The expected approach is for the provider to create value not for the customer but together with the customer. Even though a number of driving forces requires the shift of a firm’s focus towards taking the perspective of the customers of that firm, it is not an easy task for any firm no matter the market it is operating in or the geographical area the firm is covering. But this shift could represent one effective and efficient way for the firm to differentiate in the market and to be rewarded with achieving a competitive advantage to be sustained over a longer period of time.
Keywords: value creation, sustainable competitive advantage, customer solutions.
JEL Classification: L10, D40, M10