This paper studies specific aspects related to the adoption of Internet of Things (IoT) technologies and the impact they have on the sustainable growth of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in the Romanian IT industry. It was considered that digital marketing in general, and IoT in particular, have enormous potential for the aforementioned entities, and the acceptance and adoption of IoTs by companies in different sectors can significantly influence the way they operate, leading to sustainable growth. Primary data obtained from quantitative marketing research based on a questionnaire were analyzed. The results showed that although a large proportion of the Romanian IT industry SMEs use advanced marketing technologies, relatively few of those have integrated IoT solutions to date, mainly due to specific cost challenges. Nevertheless, the outcomes highlight that these companies are aware of the IoT’s benefits and place the adoption of such solutions among their priorities in order to achieve sustainable growth of their businesses. Based on the research results, the main proposal for the business environment is to design viable marketing programs for these companies, as well as to allocate resources for business development aimed at educating human resources to effectively address specific internal and external activities through IoT for sustainable development.

The literature introduced the concepts of sustainability and digitalisation as one, mixed-combined and named as digitainability. By linking digital divide, sustainability, and digitalisation, the authors aimed to: (i) identify variables that might influence the digital divide index; (ii) determine variables to model sustainable development goals; and (iii) create a model to explain digitainability through education. Analysing the sample of 13 EU developed countries, the authors created three econometric models and analysed the manner of how education might shape the inclusivity in a new and ever-growing Society. The results generated an inter-connected model that shows that new Society depends on the users’ medium or high skills because of their strong and positive influence on the digital divide index. The scientific contribution reveals solutions for an inclusive future, not far from the demanding requirements of the present. The theoretical implications shape the necessity to collaborate with policy makers to optimise the educational public system requirements in order to form prepared specialists for high-demanding markets in which they will work. The orientation of managerial implications of top leaders from companies must address an adapted mindset to collaborate with the academic environment to discover and understand the truth about the challenges of the new Era.

The Millennials and Generation Z use online shopping for a holistic experience and buy more expensive or better-quality products with buy now pay later payment methods for their highly demanding needs. The authors aimed to deepen understanding of this phenomenon by finding related knowledge fields and discovering the type of economy that will represent an increasing market share for the method of domestic e-commerce payments. The methodology used combined computer-assisted review, descriptive statistics, and linear regression to explain the market share of 23 economies worldwide. Student credit card use, myopic consumer law, buying tendencies. and dark financial triangles were identified as related topics. Logistics performance, ease of doing business, and postal development were found to be significant factors. Finally, economies with medium ranks are inclined to adopt this kind of payment easily. Hence, major implications, both managerial and academic, must be addressed. High responsibility should be borne by industry associations, which should run information campaigns by collaborating with public institutions. From the point of view of theoretical implications, studying the buy now and pay later concept and its outcomes might deepen understanding of consumer behaviour, decision-making processes, risk perception mitigation, debt behaviours, and credit adoption.

The paper analyzes particular aspects of a competitive economy based on low carbon emissions, which requires a fundamental change in consumer behavior, by focusing mainly on green acquisitions. The article contributes to the literature by the novelty of the researched problem: identification and analysis of the attitude and behavior of Romanian students regarding the electric vehicles acquisition. Thus, a quantitative marketing research was conducted, using a sample of 1221 students from 11 Romanian university centers. Also, the paper includes an overview regarding the costs and financial benefits provided by the Romanian Government to the electric vehicles owners, such as acquisition price reductions or tax reductions. The research results show that only half of the students are familiar with the concept of green consumption, and 37.8% of them are interested in buying an electric vehicle, the main reason being the fuel consumption. The authors recommend to the state’s institutions to develop special programs, by offering attractive facilities to the young people with higher education, as potential buyers, for the purchase of electric vehicles, this way diminishing the barrier effect generated by the high price. The academic environment should initiate research, both at the micro and macroeconomic level, to quantify the economic-social implications of green acquisitions in general and electric vehicles in particular.

The main aim of this study is to examine university students’ satisfaction with remote learning, analysing their socio-demographic and personal factors, the perception of online interactivity and of the online means used by academics considering two important moments: one academic year from the pandemic period (2020–2021) and one from the post-pandemic period (2022–2023). The sample included 1493 university students in a cross-sectional correlation research design. We found significant direct effects of techno-creators and techno-inhibitors on satisfaction, and of e-learning use on satisfaction. Technostress inhibitors have significant positive effects on e-learning use, learning engagement and negative effects on technostress creators. The relationship between technostress creators and satisfaction is partially mediated by learning engagement and e-learning use. Uncertainty has mediated effects on e-learning satisfaction. The results show that students expected almost all the features of the platforms to be used more in 2022–2023, when classes became preponderantly face-to-face. The results are slightly different during the two years of the analysis.

The healthcare systems of European countries currently face challenges regarding the sustainability of healthcare provision. The growing sophistication of new technologies is transforming the accessibility and management of health services and information, while also challenging society’s ability to offer fair access to health services for all people. The aim of this paper is to identify and analyze some of the determinants of the self-perceived health status across the EU28 area and to determine how the digitalization of health is impacting the self-rated health of the European populations, given the fact that a healthier population is one of the 17 goals of sustainable development on the 2030 Agenda. The research method used is panel-data regression using secondary data from international databases. The results indicate that there is a direct relationship between the way people are assessing personal health, the ability to use the Internet for seeking health-related information, and the use of various apps to purchase health-related items online. Our findings are useful for academics, industry specialists, and public authorities in designing sustainable health products and policies by focusing on the development of suitable mHealth programs for generating more patient-centered services where the idea of self-care is encouraged.