(1) Purpose: The main objective of this research was to determine if and how the COVID-19 pandemic impacted new entrepreneurial opportunities. The study also focused on finding the means of actions that can positively affect the future entrepreneurial field. (2) Methodology: Initially, the literature review was approached, the complementary evaluation of the researchers’ interest sustaining the timeliness of the analyzed topic. The empirical analysis implied conducting a multiple statistical regression on how the new entrepreneurial opportunities can be affected by relevant variables. (3) Findings: The obtained results highlighted a potential beneficial effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on entrepreneurship, namely determining new entrepreneurial opportunities. The need to consider new directions of action in entrepreneurship was also outlined, the online migration and the adaption to new market configurations being considered essential promoters of change. (4) Practical Implications/Originality/Value: Although existing research focused, to a large extent, on analyzing the COVID-19 pandemic’s effects on entrepreneurship, few of them highlighted a future perspective that would ensure the continuity of entrepreneurial processes in extreme conditions, such as those under study. The present research could contribute to the specialty literature enrichment while serving as guidance to the entrepreneurship practitioners towards the implementation of long-term visions and processes.

In today’s digitalized era, embracing new and emerging technologies is a requirement to remain competitive. The present research investigates the adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) by the elderly in the European landscape, emphasizing the importance of individuals’ digital skills. As has already been globally recognized, the most imminent demographic challenge is no longer represented by the rapid growth of the population but by its aging. Thus, the paper initially analyzed European perspectives on AI adoption, also discussing the importance of focusing on seniors. A bibliometric analysis was required afterward, and the review of the resulting relevant scientific publications uncovered gaps in understanding the relationship between older individuals and AI, particularly in terms of digital competence. Further exploration considered the EU population’s digital literacy and cultural influences using Hofstede’s model, while also identifying potential ways to improve the elderly’s digital skills and promote the adoption of AI. Results indicate a growing interest in AI adoption among the elderly, underscoring the urgent need for digital skills development. The imperative of personalized approach implementations, such as specialized courses, personalized training sessions, or mentoring programs, was underscored. Moreover, the importance of targeted strategies and collaborative efforts to ensure equitable participation in the digital age was identified as a prerequisite for AI adoption by seniors. In terms of potential implications, the research can serve as a starting point for various stakeholders in promoting an effective and sustainable adoption of AI among older citizens in the EU.

The European Green Deal (EGD) represents a new and ambitious growth strategy proposed by the European Commission for transforming the EU into a prosperous and resilient society based on competitive economy, efficiency in terms of resource allocation and a green environment. Under these circumstances, the aim of the present research is to highlight the main criticisms of the European Green Deal by taking into consideration the competition and entrepreneurial dimensions of the common market. Methodologically, the research entails a systematic review of the specialty literature and, alongside this, a preliminary bibliometric study on the analysed topic. Therefore, several critical issues on the European Green Deal’s impact on entrepreneurship and competition are highlighted. The research results illustrate that the European Green Deal affects entrepreneurial activity through a prioritization of the environmental dimension, despite the free market. Aiming to achieve the stated goals, the EGD provides the context of governmental interventions and regulations, which will distort entrepreneurship and competitional processes through fiscal policies and other instruments. The lack of clarity, the ambiguous objectives and the overall costs are also weaknesses of the European Green Deal, as highlighted by the present research. Even if it seems impressive on paper, many researchers demonstrated its inefficiency and impossibility. However, the research results are far away from denying the importance of the European Green Deal, considering the long-term perspective.

In the absence of globally coherent specifications and standards, digitalization would never have spread across the world in such a huge extent as it did. The availability of digital technologies has significantly increased in the last decade, shifting the focus of policy-makers from on the diffusion of these technologies to their usage by governments, companies and also individuals. Actually, digital technologies and internet became the main forces for transforming the modern world and its economy. Activating within a turbulent environment, Romania faced many challenges in the last three years, but it managed to perform better from period to period. Relative to the past performance, Romania registers a higher rate of digitalization, benefiting from coverage of rapid broadband connections, mostly in urban areas. This made Romania having the second highest share of subscriptions within the EU in 2016. Romania has developed increasingly fast over the last years and reached a position closer to the EU average, which translates into a positive evolution. While positive, the obtained results are not enough to compensate the country’s digital skills deficit.

The current global changes bring to the fore the importance of the innovation and digital transformation for economic development. Under the previous assumption, an objective evaluation of the economic growth discrepancies, considering the digitalization process, is required. The main goal of the present research is to analyse the economic growth of the European countries, based to the digitalization process, by using an input-output method. Under these circumstances, a Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) was performed, considering the digitalization dimensions of DESI Index as input and the economic growth (annual %) as output. Based on the proposed model, the results highlighted the bidirectional relationship between economic growth and digitalization. Consistent with the research results, the European countries can be divided in two main categories: the efficient and the inefficient. On one hand, we can find the relatively efficient European states in terms of achieving the economic growth through digitalization (Ireland, Romania, Croatia and Greece). On the other hand, there is a numerous list of the inefficient ones, including important countries like Finland, Germany or France. Obviously, a remarkable aspect related to their situation is that, considering the national available inputs, an output maximization will be possible. According to the proposed model, the efficient countries can serve as peers or optimal benchmarks for solving the issue of relative inefficiency, by adapting and implementing their good practices.