The Romanian traditional pattern of food consumption as a whole is no longer a reference point in shaping a healthy and sustainable food behavior due to the growing discrepancies between the return to traditions and the constraints of sustainable development, so the aim of this study is to provide solutions for reshaping the food pattern by incorporating the principles of sustainable diet. The research conducted is based on qualitative data and the semi-structured interview was used as method of data collection from a sample of 21 Romanians traditional food consumers. The study led to a typology of respondents that combines two consumption orientations, “healthy” and “convenience”, with two attitudes towards traditional diet, “hedonism” and “conformism”. Although respondents do not completely reject the idea of flexitarianism, they showed the tendency for overconsumption of meat-based traditional foods and a weak concern for environmental sustainability. For these reasons, a set of recommendations for a new model of sustainable diet for Romanian population, focused on the relationship between traditionality, sustainability, and health, was put forward. The research findings show the need for supporting nutritional education programs and extensive information campaigns targeted at Romanian consumers to encourage the adoption of flexitarian style and the switch to a more sustainable diet in the near future.

The present study investigated the factors that influence the feasibility and competitive advantage of a digital freight forwarder through a binary logistic regression model. The research is a concrete application of sustainable entrepreneurship in the transport and supply chain sector. The novelty of this topic presents a research gap that needs to be covered with dedicated studies. After the literature review and concept clarification, the article presents quantitative research involving an online questionnaire administered among a sample of transporters in Romania. Through analysis of the data collected from 405 respondents, it was found that the most important factors when selecting a digital freight forwarder are the existence of both sales and dispatch departments. Furthermore, apart from greening the industry, a digital freight forwarder has several other advantages for all stakeholders and society. The study concludes that the concept has the potential to disrupt the entire industry through a unique combination of efficiency, transparency, and sustainability.

This paper examines the reaction of the household indebtedness to various shocks in the economy between 2011Q1 and 2021Q4, using a Structural Vector Autoregressive model. The results of the econometric model indicate that average net wage was the driver of the loans granted by credit institutions to individuals’ variation after their own innovations at all time horizons. This result was achieved in the conditions that households’ resilience to shocks has improved significantly in the period 2011-2020 from lei 243 billion to lei 480 billion. The evolution of the economy starting from March 2020 was influenced by the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic and the imposition of restrictions to prevent the spread of the disease. In this situation, between March 2020 and September 2021, the new standard mortgage loans recorded an average growth rate of 2.2 percent in nominal terms and 1.91 percent in real terms, standing above the pre-pandemic level (1.34 percent, respectively 1.17 percent). The low interest rates and general household income growth (the minimum wage in the economy increased 14 times between 2011 and 2021) were responsible for high household debt. The rise in household indebtedness growths its vulnerability to shocks in the economy, potentially having a negative impact mainly on the creditors’ balance sheet.

The purpose of this study is to investigate the reaction of the insolvency rate to the various shocks in the economies of Romania and Spain through a Structural Vector Autoregressive model. Departing from quarterly data for 2008–2016, it was found that the future values of the insolvency rate are explained by the past values of the interest rate and the retail trade index, more precisely macroeconomic risk factors cost of debt and changing in demand are main responsible for the health of non-financial corporations sector. In contrast, the influence of the investment rate on insolvency rate is not predictable. In addition, both in Romania and in Spain the interest rate is the main determinant of the insolvency rate variation, beyond its own innovations, in horizons of over 2 quarters. These results were obtained under the circumstances that the analysed period was characterized by the Great Recession and its recovery. In this situation, firms faced a lesser demand as well as a tightening on the possibilities of obtaining the external funds they needed, not only to finance their expansion projects but even their daily operations. Consequently, many firms faced a negative environment that forced them to go out of the market. Keyword : companies’ failure, macroeconomic factors, cointegration analysis, VAR model, Spain, Romania