In today’s world, the higher education system represents a means of developing the national and global economy by providing individual and collective benefits. Student loyalty is a critical measure in the success of higher education institutions that aim at retaining students until graduation and then attracting them back. As they fuel the knowledge economy, universities create a more educated labor market, providing employment and higher salaries. Having this major significance, it is vital to study the key determinants that persuade stakeholders to form long-term relationships with universities, revealing high loyalty. Aiming to stay competitive and survive the drastic, ongoing changes, successful universities thrive on building loyalty among all stakeholder groups, especially students. Despite the importance of the higher education institutions (HEIs), little research has been conducted on student loyalty. Therefore, the main objectives of this study are to empirically examine the key factors influencing student loyalty by testing two models, namely perceived quality, brand associations, satisfaction, trust, and commitment, and to test the relationships among them. To analyze the data, a confirmatory factor analysis was applied where it explored the associations between items and constructs and, then, utilized a structural equation model (SEM) to investigate the relationships existing between constructs with the application of the STATA program. A structured questionnaire comprising of 66 questions was developed, using a five Likert scale. A total of 682 students from the Bucharest University of Economic Studies filled in the questionnaire. In both cases, the findings reveal that commitment has the most significant direct impact on loyalty. The other factors have an indirect effect, satisfaction having the most significant total effect, followed by trust and commitment. Therefore, universities must focus on improving service quality to develop positive brand associations, student satisfaction, trust, and commitment in developing student loyalty.

The return to normal conditions after the pandemic requires social readjustment through recreational activities in a controllable environment. Adventure tourism is one of the feasible options. This study develops a model that will allow young people to regain their internal balance by exploring cumulative positive experiences adapted to their needs. A set of indicators are used in the model to measure people’s attitudes towards tourist destinations. The factors that describe adventure tourism have been identified by Hofstede’s theory of the cultural dimension from interviews with people belonging to the millennial generation. Quantitative research was conducted among this generation from 12 counties of Romania. Following the modelling, they were identified as the main factors of the practice of AT: stress decreasing, self-awareness, search for new experiences and social interaction. The use of the model based on structural equations allows the identification of personalized tourist destinations to be used in the industry in order to revitalize tourism activity and rebalance the socio-economic perspective. Examining the interrelationship of factors contributes to a better understanding of the concept of adventure tourism and provides a relevant choice for post-pandemic tourism experiences.

Branding is the process through which a products’ or a services’ brand image is changed or is being developed. Over time, the branding process was approached from many perspectives to serve different purposes, therefore the nation branding was introduced to create a recognizable image for a country, which started to grow year by year. The scope back then, was the same as now, meaning to consolidate a nation’s position in a competitive environment and to improve its reputation. A positive national image contributes to the economic growth by building up a touristic national brand, attracting foreign investors, building trust in the national companies and brands, it encourages exports, develops the public diplomacy and slows down emigration. A good national branding is advantageous for all parties involved, for the private and the public sector, as well as for all bodies and citizens, and these same parties play an important role in building it. While all parties involved are conscious about the need of a coherent brand and are willing to contribute to the branding process, it is actually a challenge to build functional models to implement it and facilitate a strategic communication. This article is using case studies and desk research to study suitable models and communication strategies, which can be applied in the national branding process. It is proposing good practices to bring together research, business, policy making actors and individuals.

To build a better and more profitable corporate image, Western firms have been investing in social responsibility. The Romanian consumer has fairly recently been exposed to this holistic marketing concept since the Revolution of 1989, and in this regard, in this article, the authors verify conventional corporate social responsibility principles of building customer loyalty as well as goodwill from stakeholders. The paper explores the competitive advantage and its various components in which companies make use of marketing instruments that influence CSR activities of retailers.