This study aims to assess and identify the role of disruptive/digital technologies in financial innovation strategies as part of social innovations at both the firm and country level. The analysis proposed by the present study brings useful theoretical/pragmatic insights on the application of financial technologies in the context of the “fintech” revolution, as a disruptive innovation. There are few studies of this type that “cross-examine” technical/social innovative capacity at the firm level vs. the same innovative capacity at the level of the world’s major countries. Our proposed study brings some novel elements to the literature on this topic. First, the study synthesizes the factors/variables explaining technical/social innovative capacity as ranked by the GCI (Global Competitiveness Index) and GII (Global Innovation Index) at the country level and then correlates informal/empirical variables with the factors explaining innovative capacity for the 50 companies in the BCG (Boston Consulting Group) ranking. Second, the study identifies three “driving forces” (digital technologies, managers, and the market) as the main variables determining financial innovativeness (fintech revolution) at the firm level. Third, based on the “over-cross assessment” (non- statistical) of the information/data provided by the BCG study vs. the GII and GCI studies, the study suggests some ways to delineate and quantify financial innovation as part of social innovation (e.g., it is argued that up to 80% of the social innovation achieved annually by a firm relates to the financial relationships engaged by the firm with various categories of stakeholders). Finally, the study is also important from a pragmatic point of view as it suggests/proposes a number of principles that can be considered by managers for building a KM (knowledge management) and continuous financial innovation strategy. From a theoretical perspective, the study provides a starting point for further research aimed at explaining firm-level financial innovation (fintech as a disruptor) through the massive use of disruptive technologies.

In most cases, the rules of the game in international trade are shaped by political economy, but this interplay is more noticeable in politically sensitive sectors such as agriculture. The balance between domestic political interests and the c...

There are studies and applications that have argued that trust, as a phenomenon, exceeds the interpersonal limit, it leaving its mark both at the organizational level and at the socio-economic level. Thus, trust becomes an important aspect for leading organizations and not only. The present research aims to analyse the relationship between organizational trust and all formal and informal networks / relationships from business organizations in North-eastern Romania. The research aimed to identify whether there is a strong link between the promotion of formal relationships by management and a high level of trust and the development of informal relationships. For this research we used a descriptive, empirical-analytical methodology. The data obtained from the interpretation of the questionnaire, at the level of the companies included in our sample showed that there is a strong link between formal relationships and networks (such as internal relationships to a company and which are given by organization chart, internal rules and various regulations) and relations and informal networks (in which case we are talking about informal relationships that double the internal organization chart of a company) and the degree of trust. The strong connection is demonstrated by the coefficients obtained (ρ (128) = 0.430 - demonstrating the high correlation between formal and informal relations, respectively ρ (128) = 0.407 - demonstrating the high correlation between formal relations and the degree of trust). This means that a more precise delimitation of formal working groups stimulates the creation of a climate of trust between compartments / departments / groups. If the organizational climate in the company allows the development of personal relationships, there is a certain level of trust between employees. Moreover, we have identified the fact that at the level of the companies included in our sample there is a greater or lesser concern of the decision makers from these companies in the development and operation of informal networks / groups; we must mention that this concern is different by activity sectors / companies.

This study aims to assess and identify the role of disruptive/digital technologies in financial innovation strategies as part of social innovations at both firm and country level. There are few studies of this type that "cross-examine" technical/social innovative capacity at the firm level vs. the same innovative capacity at the level of the world's major countries. Our proposed study brings some novel elements to the literature on this topic. First, the study synthesizes the factors/variables explaining technical/social innovative capacity as ranked by the GCI (Global Competitiveness Index) and GII (Global Innovation Index) at the country level and then correlates these variables with the factors explaining innovative capacity for the 50 companies in the BCG (Boston Consulting Group) ranking. Second, the study identifies three "driving forces" (digital technologies, managers and the market) as the main variables determining financial innovativeness at firm level. Third, based on the "cross" analysis of the information/data provided by the BCG study vs. the GII and GCI studies, the study suggests some ways to delineate and quantify financial innovation as part of social innovation (e.g., it is argued that 80% of the social innovation achieved annually by a firm relates to the financial relationships engaged by the firm with various categories of stakeholders). Finally, the study is also important from a pragmatic point of view as it suggests/proposes a number of principles that can be considered by managers for building a KM (knowledge management) and continuous innovation strategy. From a theoretical perspective, the study provides a starting point for further research aimed at explaining firm-level financial innovation through the massive use of disruptive technologies.

In the current social-economic context, most companies and countries in the world, including EU Member States, are adopting strategies/policies to improve their competitive position at international level. The aim of the present study is to argue, on the basis of quantitative research, that education has become the essential vector for knowledge acquisition and continuous innovation, as well as for sustainable development and the achievement of some SDGs goals. At the core of the study is an informal, cross-case analysis between some rankings for companies (e.g. BCG) versus some rankings for countries (e.g. LPI) in order to infer/deduce to what extent the values/culture for each of the two categories of entities influence socially performing behavior. In essence, the result of our study shows that each individual's general education as well as continuous learning as a member of an organization/society directly condition the acquisition of new knowledge, continuous innovation and sustainable development at the level of any hierarchically structured social group. Our study brings some elements of absolute novelty in management and sociology (e.g.: the identification of systemic trust and tacit knowledge as common organizational vs. national values; the synergy effect of teams through the application of Ba, etc.) that are of both conceptual and pragmatic interest.

This study aims to discuss the role of human values and trust-based mechanisms in integrating innovation and knowledge to improve organizational behavior (OB) and societal behavior. The study is based on a descriptive analysis of data from international country rankings (e.g., Legatum Prosperity Index) and company rankings (e.g., Boston Consulting Group) regarding the dynamics of values and culture. Based on the rankings and literature, we conduct a cross-analysis between OB vs. societal behavior to deduce the key human values that support continuous innovation in firms/countries. The study brings some novelties regarding systemic trust and tacit knowledge as key values explaining the application of Ba, SECI, etc., and continuous innovation in the 50 most innovative companies (BCG). Among such elements of novelty are the identification of a fifth type of tacit knowledge (TK) at the firm level, the distribution of five types of TK over the range given by fuzzy logic, the use of the "semiotic triangular pyramid” for defining knowledge and the proposal of an extension of the "the SECI spiral" argued by Nonaka and Takeuchi. Therefore, the proposed study brings a new normative- conceptual framework of pragmatic interest for any company/ country aiming to improve performance by considering human values.