The spread of social networks and the high level of penetration of digital content and mobile devices have created a society in which consumers expect constant communication from companies. In addition, communication on social media is often accompanied by the hope of being able to interact on an equal footing. In this way, companies hope that the use of social networks will not only increase sales, but also increase attention, brand page traffic, and customer loyalty. The purpose of this study was to provide the grounds for identifying the correlations between the interactive potential of social media based on dialogue-oriented communication and the quality of relationships with online customers. To achieve this goal, an online questionnaire was used in which 604 respondents from Romania participated (204 social media managers and 400 online customers). The results of the study showed that it is particularly important for companies to understand the role of interactive communication in social media and to thus build a bridge between the orientation of communication towards dialogue and relationships with online customers. It was found that the correct use of social networks could also support the achievement of public relation (PR) objectives. In addition, this study has implications for the development of customer-oriented online communication strategies by Romanian companies.

Background: Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is studied from many perspectives and has gained unprecedented importance in recent years, especially in emerging economies. Pharmaceutical companies play a very important role in a population’s well-being and health through the CSR and corporate governance practices that they apply.Methods: We used an exploratory approach to measure compliance with the Corporate Governance Code of pharmaceutical companies listed on the Romanian capital market and with practices declared through CSR.Results: The results show that pharmaceutical companies are involved in actions that consider the well-being of society by offering financial support and managing various sustainable projects, targeting social and economic issues, leading public health awareness campaigns, and investing in health projects.Conclusion: This study highlights the increasingly important role played by corporate governance and corporate social responsibility in pharmaceutical companies in improving public health in countries with emerging economies.

In the context of the globalization and internationalization of economies, to efficiently attract financial and intellectual capital that is necessary for business sustainability, the mechanisms of corporate governance have to be based on gaining the trust of all the interested parties. These objectives require an organizational culture and a climate which is based on correctness, responsibility, transparency, and efficiency, in which ethical principles govern the spread of behaviors in the entire entity. This research identifies the relation between the corporate governance and the entities’ financial performance using the specific context of Romania. The findings of this study reveal new insights on the corporate governance and financial performance based on a sample of companies listed on the Bucharest Stock Exchange. The results show a positive correlation between the net accounting results, earnings per share, and the duality of the CEO, and a negative correlation between price per share and the duality of the CEO.

Previous studies have shown the importance of gender diversity for good corporate governance, although in developing countries a gap is observed in correlating compliance with corporate governance principles and board composition. Our study examines the influence of the board composition, including female executives, on compliance with the corporate governance code of companies listed on the Bucharest Stock Exchange. By analysing data collected from the annual reports (corporate governance statements, financial statements) of 63 companies listed on the Romanian capital market between 2016 and 2019 (divided into two panels depending on the listing tier – Premium and Standard), we identified a positive relationship between female executive and the degree of compliance with the Corporate Governance Code. The national majority capital positively and significantly influences the compliance of companies with female executives listed in the Standard Tier with the Code, while the private majority capital negatively influences the compliance of the companies regardless the listing tier. Our study highlights the importance of female executives in the corporate governance of listed companies on the Romanian capital market and brings empirical contribution to the literature development on a newly declared emerging market.

This research investigates how the health crisis influenced digital technology adoption in the official discourse of Bucharest Stock Exchange companies by analysing annual financial reports from 2017 to 2024, divided into pre-pandemic (2017-2019) and post-pandemic (2020-2024) periods. The study employs a comprehensive methodology on 120 annual reports from BET index companies, using: (1) TF-IDF score calculations to quantify technology term relevance; (2) event studies assessing pandemic impact; (3) Latent Dirichlet Allocation (LDA) topic modelling; (4) longitudinal topic distribution analysis; and (5) regression modelling with dummy variables. Results confirm all five hypotheses. TF-IDF scores reveal significant technological terminology increases during 2020-2021, followed by gradual stabilization. Event study analysis demonstrates substantial pandemic-driven transformations, with teleworking and digitization terms increasing 116.09% and new telework concepts emerging. LDA modelling identified major thematic reconfiguration, shifting from blockchain and automation focus to digital infrastructure and cybersecurity dominance. Regression models confirm the pandemic’s catalytic effect through statistically significant post-COVID dummy variable coefficients. The findings highlight the pandemic’s impact on corporate digital discourse transformation among Romanian public companies.

This study examines the relationship between ESG performance and financial performance and resilience in the banking sector, using a sample of systemically important banking institutions in Romania and Poland for the period 2020–2024. The study aims to assess the extent to which ESG performance contributes to improving financial performance and strengthening the financial resilience of banking institutions operating in these two emerging economies in Central and Eastern Europe. The research employs an empirical framework based on correlation analysis, panel regression models (Fixed Effects and Random Effects), selected on the basis of the Hausman test, with robust standard errors, as well as a robustness analysis using ESG variables lagged by one year. Financial performance is assessed using the Return on Assets (ROA) and Return on Equity (ROE) indicators, whilst financial resilience is analysed using the Capital Adequacy Ratio (CAR), Liquidity Coverage Ratio (LCR), Non-Performing Loans (NPLs) and Cost of Risk (CoR). ESG performance is examined both through the aggregate ESG score and through its individual environmental, social and governance components. The results highlight that ESG performance does not show statistically significant associations with traditional indicators of financial performance. Instead, the analysis reveals differentiated associations between the ESG components and indicators of financial resilience, with the social dimension being associated with credit risk indicators (NPL and CoR), whilst the environmental and governance components do not show significant effects in the estimated models. The study’s contribution lies in the simultaneous analysis of financial performance and financial resilience using a panel framework applied to banks in Romania and Poland, as well as in highlighting the heterogeneous nature of the relationship between ESG components and the various dimensions of financial resilience. The results complement the literature on the banking sector in Central and Eastern Europe and offer relevant implications for banking institutions, investors and regulators, without implying causal relationships between the variables analysed.