Purpose: Drawing from dynamic capability (DC) theory, this study aims to investigate how big data analytics (BDA)-enabled dynamic capabilities (DCs) prompt firm performance. This study proposes that BDA-enabled DCs lead firms toward simultaneous exploration and exploitation of new knowledge about markets and products (i.e. marketing ambidexterity) which in turn improves firms' market and financial performance. This study also examines if environmental dynamism strengthens the aforementioned relationship.Design/methodology/approach: This study uses survey questionnaire and data were collected in the form of two heterogeneous samples from Turkey and Pakistan. Partial least square-structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) was used to test the hypotheses.Findings: Results reveal that BDA-enabled DCs positively affect both dimensions of marketing ambidexterity (exploration and exploitation). Marketing exploration and exploitation have positive effects on firms' market and financial performance. Results also demonstrate that environmental dynamism moderates the link between BDA-enabled DCs and firms' marketing exploitation. The moderating effect for BDA-enabled DCs and firms' marketing exploration was not consistent across both samples.Research limitations/implications: This study contributes to the literature of BDA and marketing ambidexterity in the light of DC theory in a way that when and how the marketing ambidexterity, derived from BDA-enabled DCs, has a positive impact on firm performance. Moreover, findings imply that the development and enhancement of BDA-enabled DCs facilitate firms to calibrate marketing exploitation and exploration to seek new knowledge about markets and products and using such knowledge to achieve superior performance.Originality/value: The novelty of present study is development of dynamic capabilities-based framework which sheds light on the role of big data for sensing, seizing and (re)configuring firms' resources to develop marketing ambidextrous capabilities in order to stay successful. From methodological perspective, this study uses two heterogeneous samples to assess robustness of results for ensuring greater generalizability and theoretical resonance.

Given the sizeable importance of companies from the energy sector, and the economic, social, and environmental implications generated by their activity, an in-depth assessment of the relationship between financial performance and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiatives becomes essential for this sector. In this paper, we investigate the shaping factors of the financial performance of companies in the energy field, with a particular focus on the renewable energy sector, in a comparative approach with the conventional ones. The data were gathered from the Refinitiv Eikon database. The methodology applied consists of several advanced econometric procedures, namely robust regression and structural equation modelling. Our findings bring to the fore the distinctiveness of the main drivers of financial performance of companies from the renewable energy sector, compared with the conventional ones, for which specific policies and strategies are needed to comply with the CSR dimensions, as predictors of financial performance in the energy sector.

The study explains the flow of knowledge in the circular economy model enterprises. We analyze the impact of managerial decisions on the absorptive capacity, which is new product development, considering the role of critical elements of strategic orientation (innovation and costs) in the textile industry. Based on the verification of hypotheses by employing the SEM method, innovation orientation is a mediator between adaptability-oriented decisions and transformation, and between adaptability-oriented decisions and exploitation. Ambidexterity-oriented decisions affect absorptive capacity. These findings semanticize and extend previous research, indicating that strategic activities focused on eco-innovations are transformed into the process of creating a new product.

The present paper focuses on the subject of creativity in business starting from a set of interviews with young designers (fashion designers mostly, but not exclusively). In order to provide an updated overview of the “ecosystem” of creativity, we intend to add to the field literature, thus offering a more comprehensive understanding of creativity by focusing on the role of designers in facilitating or inhibiting creativity in business in the fashion industry. The work was limited contextually to the fashion sector in the western region of Romania, with the data being collected through semi-structured interviews with entrepreneur fashion designers (producers of clothing, footwear and accessories). The analysis aims to identify and highlight the attributes of entrepreneur designers in the creative industry, as well as the ways in which they are inclined to develop their creativity in order to combine various materials or textures into something original. The results of our research are in fact empirical evidence regarding the strategic role of entrepreneur designers when it comes to creativity in business, a role that can allow them to achieve durable competitive advantage for their own businesses by developing both the analytical skills necessary for interpreting economic data to validate an idea, and the intuitive skills regarding the economic climate. Although the specific context may be considered a limitation of the study, it may become a real advantage for potential future research that will extend the boundaries of the present one.

For the travel industry, technology, digitalization, and connectivity are factors of significant importance. We proposed a city guide app (CGA) model in this research. The general city tourist information is enormous, but it is essential to know the information of interest for travelers and useful for mobile applications. We used an online survey to detect this kind of information. The interviewees were young people aged 20 to 24 from Romania who used at least a CGA while travelling in different cities, especially abroad. We kept forty questions for the proposed model—sixteen from the previous research on app quality, user habits, travel agency app usage, behavioral intention, twenty-four questions on touristic information proposed by us. We used the partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) method. We concluded which touristic information influences mobile app quality and behavioral intention. Given the age and location of our interviewees, this information could be different, considering the respondent age, location, and habits. Whether we are talking about passionate information technology (IT) developers, city halls, or travel agencies, this study is helpful for those who want to develop a CGA.

Digital technology impacts the 21st century, and it shapes our lifestyle, the way we think and the way we act. This paper presents aspects of the digital transformation of the workplace and how this process requires the creation and development of new skills and competencies for employees today but especially in the future. In this new context, an essential role is played by education, by educational systems that need to adapt to new requirements, precisely so that educators have the skills needed to be more productive. From this perspective, in the paper, the authors present a teaching and learning method called the TADEO method, which encourages learning the skills needed for Education 4.0. This method is based on a technology support software tool to help teachers build their teaching plan, teaching duration, teaching materials, and assessment method. Hybrid work is an opportunity that brings new challenges: the work environment is changing rapidly, and automation is replacing human tasks in order for organizations to thrive. Recruitment has become complicated with the digital transformation, and new challenges are emerging for employers as they need people with the skills needed to cope with a changing work environment. The study was conducted on a sample of respondents from a multinational service company based in western Romania, where the accounting department employees were interviewed to see what they think about artificial intelligence, the implications of robots, and the future at work. This research is based on four objectives that have been achieved and three hypotheses that have been tested. The study results showed that about half (43.7%) of the employees who answered this questionnaire worked in the office. Only 28.2% consider themselves very satisfied with the job, and 37.9% see themselves working at the same company for 10 years.