Major companies in the global market have made significant investments in artificial intelligence-assisted technology to increase the value of their products and services, which gives the implementation of artificial intelligence an extremely important role. Starting from these premises, the authors set out to evaluate the transformation level of companies in terms of adopting technology based on artificial intelligence according to their level of digital maturity. For this purpose, qualitative research was used by deploying the inductive method, which allowed five distinct categories of companies with unique characteristics to be identified, generating an interval scale that illustrates the level of digital maturity and the ability to adopt and implement viable solutions based on artificial intelligence technology. This paper, in addition to identifying the digital transformation level of companies, offers solutions and recommendations for addressing the challenges encountered by the business environment, thus contributing to the understanding and development of strategies adapted to each situation that may appear on the market.

The Smart City concept has emerged in the last decade as a fusion of ideas about how information and communication technologies could improve the functioning of cities. A new concept, that of a sustainable Smart City, is already under discussion. This article aims at analyzing the Smart City concept in Romania. The resulting advantages, but also the difficulties and obstacles that need to be confronted, are considered when becoming a Smart City. When a city wants to become smart, it must consider both the advantages and the difficulties it will face in this endeavor. This paper has been able to take into account and group the four key features of a sustainable Smart City. The authors conducted research in two parts. The first consisted of conducting a comparative analysis of the most important results of Smart City projects implemented in the four reference cities in Romania compared to London. The second, a quantitative analysis, aimed to analyze the opinions and attitudes of Romanians regarding the Smart City concept in relation to sustainability. An important finding of the study shows that over half of the respondents are familiar with the Smart City concept and 41.9% consider health as a priority for investment in technology. The authors of the article propose clearer highlighting and division of cities from the point of view of creating a Smart City.

Currently, one of the most widely used marketing techniques is influencer marketing, but is its true impact on Romanians truly understood? This article aims to establish the perception of influencer marketing activities by Romanian consumers. A quantitative study was conducted, gathering 618 responses through an online questionnaire. It was found that 92% of the respondents made at least one purchase based on content creator recommendations, with Instagram being perceived as the most impactful platform for such campaigns. However, the success of these campaigns relies on several strategic elements. These include selecting content creators who align with the product or service being promoted and ensuring that the influencer’s audience demographics match the target audience. Companies must also prioritize transparency and the seamless integration of products into influencers’ daily lives, as well as considering factors like content type, the frequency of posts, and budget. The results indicate that well-structured influencer partnerships, particularly on Instagram, enhance consumer trust and enhance marketing impact. These insights offer valuable guidance for developing effective digital marketing strategies emphasizing to specific business needs.

In a global context increasingly marked by environmental concerns, the circular economy is becoming an essential solution for sustainability. The present study analyzes the integration of circular economy principles into the marketing strategies of fast-food restaurants, as well as the influence they have on consumer perception. The research instrument was an online questionnaire that had a number of 676 respondents. The research results highlighted that 44.5% of the respondents took into consideration the sustainable part of fast-food restaurants, but speed and convenience proved to be the essential elements that they chose. The most appreciated aspects highlighted by the respondents were biodegradable packaging, providing healthy food options and the use of local and sustainable ingredients. In contrast, the least appreciated aspects were collaborations with ecological organizations and reducing the carbon footprint. On the other hand, it was found that among the most appreciated methods of promoting sustainability, that fast-food restaurants can implement, were social media and digital campaigns. A much smaller impact was observed in the choice of TV commercials and collaborations with influencers. In essence, this research provides some practical insights into marketing strategies that consider sustainability in the fast-food industry, but also helps to understand consumer behavior. The results highlighted the fact that there is a need for consumer education in order to increase the effect of sustainability measures. Moreover, the obtained results can constitute a solid basis for further research that focuses on how consumer perceptions of sustainability can affect real-life behaviors.

The process of universities positioning, as a component of educational and university marketing consists of a synergetic system composed of all the marketing and management efforts of a university as an entity inside the educational market, materialized in identity, image and promotion elements that lead to the creation of a strong brand of the university and to contribute to the consolidation of a solid reputation. The present paper aims to address the topic of effective positioning of universities, as a tool of university marketing, in a Romanian and European higher education market with increasingly complex evolutions. Taking into account the tendencies in the field of education and university marketing (eg: competition between universities in Romania, but also at European and worldwide level), the authors consider that higher education institutions have to emphasize the various elements of identity, image and institutional promotion, because current or future bachelor students, master students and PhD students want to belong to some entities with prestige and reputation, in other words, with a strong image and identity to provide them with confidence and security. The paper considers an approach on three main components: the analysis of the stage of knowledge of the higher education field, an original marketing research research and the conclusions and solutions. The research consists of a quantitative marketing research applied among the Romanian high school graduating students, regarding their perception about different elements of identity, image and promotion of some important universities in Romania. The paper aims, as a fundamental objective, to provide results that can be integrated into the marketing strategies of the universities from Romania and Europe.

The Internet has brought along many important changes in recent years, both in terms of the manufacturing and marketing of products or services, and in terms of human relations that have undergone significant changes, due to the ease with which the travel agencies today access unlimited audiences. With the evolution of mankind and the introduction of technology in most fields of activity, the lifestyle of people has changed, so they choose more and more often to buy vacations online. The aim of this paper is to analyse how the brand, from a customer-based perspective, is a key resource for the company when the consumer automatically associates a product with the image of a particular brand. In this sense, we conducted quantitative marketing research that has as main objectives: measuring the importance of the digital brand for deciding to purchase tourism products: measuring the frequency of using the Interne in purchasing a tourism service; the impact of brand elements on Romanian consumers. This paper is very topical, in the context in which many activities in different fields have focused on the online environment. The research results can raise the interest of both individuals and travel agencies that want the development of their brand in the digital environment.