Maritime transport is one of the main activities of the blue economy, which plays an important role in the EU. In this paper, we aim to assess the impact of maritime transport, related investment, and air pollution on economic growth within 20 countries of the European Union, using eight panel data regression models from 2007 to 2018. Our results confirm that maritime transport, air pollutants (NO_x and SO₂) from maritime transport, and investment in maritime port infrastructure are indeed positively correlated with economic growth. In other words, an increase of 10% in these factors has generated an associated increase in economic growth rate of around 1.6%, 0.4%, 0.8%, and 0.7% respectively. Alongside the intensity of economic maritime activities, pollution is positively correlated with economic growth, and thus it is recommended that policymakers and other involved stakeholders act to diminish environmental impacts in this sector using green investment in port infrastructure and ecological ships, in accordance with the current European trends and concerns.

This study aims to examine the direct effect of innovation capability on value creation. The mediating role of frugal innovation and the moderating role of knowledge sharing are also explored between innovation capability and value creation link. This exploratory study uses quantitative and cross-sectional data collected through questionnaires. Structural equation modelling (SEM) was used to examine the hypothesis. Findings show a significant positive impact of innovation capability on value creation. Results proved that frugal innovation mediates the relations between innovation capability and value creation. Knowledge sharing strengthens the association between innovation capability and value creation in their association. Our research provides a framework for the sustainable advancement of SMEs in a circular economy and recommends that they increase the value creation of the products/services through frugal innovation based on the innovation capabilities. Moreover, knowledge-sharing practices speed up the interplay between innovation capability and value creation in the circular economy.

The current study aims to explore how different owners and investors use digitalcrowdfunding platforms for advertisement and selection of different projects. This connection enhances the number of effective projects and attracts the attention of various entrepreneurs for investment. This research examines the direct impact of the crowdfunding digital-platform on crowdfunding performance as well as the role of the social capital as a mediating variable and innovative performance as a moderating variable. A quantitative approach was used for data collection and analysis. The findings show that digitalcrowdfunding platforms can be predicted through crowdfunding performance. The outcomes show that innovative performance strengthens the relationship between crowdfunding digitalplatforms and crowdfunding performance. This research reveals how fundraisers can improve crowdfunding performance through crowdfunding digitalplatforms, social capital, and innovative performance. Social capital plays a critical role in the enhancement of crowdfunding performance.

Artificial intelligence (AI) and its impact on a large array of economic and social facets has recently become one of the most debated topics both in academic and civic environment. Existing literature varies from topics touching on the AI ethics to the future of the labor market. Current research highlights significant divergences and a lack of consensus on the future implications of AI, leading to a heterogeneous perception among the general public. In this context, our research explores the intersection between AI and its profound impact on the labor market, focusing on business students’ perceptions of AI impact on skills, productivity and employment dynamics. The study examines how personal AI competencies, risk perception, and anticipated economic effects of AI technologies shape labor market expectations using structural equations modelling. Seven hypotheses were tested which summarize the correlations between six reflective constructs. Findings reveal that students generally perceive AI positively, recognizing its potential to increase organizational efficiency and work productivity. Our research highlights the dual impact of AI, exploring students’ perceptions of the effects of AI on society, organizations and the labor market and revealing the key links between these views and efficiency.

Foreign direct investment (FDI) has often been cast as a straightforward engine of growth, yet its record across Central and Eastern Europe tells a more tangled story where outcomes hinge on the interplay of education, governance, and the timing of external shocks. This study embeds fixed effects panel econometrics within a systems framework, treating FDI as a subsystem of socio-economic dynamics. Using a long-run panel of eleven economies from 2000 to 2023, the analysis models path dependence and regime shifts through interaction terms and period-specific dummies set against a systems-thinking backdrop. The analysis shows that for the average CEE economy, FDI’s contribution has waxed and waned: it dragged on growth during the early transition years (2000–2007), settled into a neutral role after the global financial crisis, and proved unpredictable in the pandemic era. Romania stands out, however, with a marked “FDI premium” quantified as approximately 0.7 pp of growth per pp of FDI that seems to stem from reinforcing loops between rising tertiary enrolment and productivity spillovers. Mapping these feedbacks brings to light virtuous circles where human capital and resilience make or break the benefits of foreign capital. The policy message is plain: nurture the positive loops through investment in skills and firm linkages, keep institutions nimble enough to adapt, and watch for early warning signs of systemic strain.

This paper assesses whether national level digitalization is associated with lower greenhouse gas emissions intensity, and under which conditions the association holds, using an unbalanced panel for twenty-seven European countries from 2014 to 2022. Digitalization is measured through a principal component index constructed from enterprise information technology adoption and fixed broadband subscriptions per capita. The outcome is the logarithm of emissions per unit of gross domestic product. Identification is implemented with two-way fixed effects and Driscoll–Kraay standard errors to exploit within country variation, and dynamic bias and potential endogeneity are probed through parsimonious difference GMM designs. Robustness is assessed through alternative outcomes, country specific linear trends, clustered inference, and leave one out checks. Evidence for an unconditional reduction in emissions intensity associated with digitalization is not found. It is predicted that the relationship between digitalization and e-commerce will be positive and statistically significant, thus meaning that at the median and the upper quartile of e-commerce a one standard deviation increase in digitalization relates to increases in intensity of about 2.4% and 3.3%, respectively. More renewable energy shares come with lower intensity and mitigate the digitalization effect. The contribution here attempts to quantify such conditional associations within a multi-country setting and thereby infer design and energy contexts wherein environmental gains from digital expansion would most likely take place.