This study highlights the perception of women entrepreneurs in Romania regarding specific drivers for a sustainable business model. This study uses a SWOT–AHP method to assess the importance of different factors that enforce or create barriers for the success in women entrepreneurial activities. SWOT analysis was conducted based on an extended literature review. An external expert in risk analysis assessed the importance of the SWOT analysis’ four dimensions—criteria. An AHP survey of 10 women entrepreneurs was conducted to evaluate the impact of each identified factor in sustaining or discouraging the success of their sustainable business model (SBM). The main results of the study present practical implications useful for designing a gender-balanced business environment. In the final part, the paper discusses women’s preference for the sustainable business model, the perceived importance of gender-related stereotypes for the development of sustainable business models, and the relevance of the new digital economy trend to Romanian women entrepreneurship.

Background: Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is studied from many perspectives and has gained unprecedented importance in recent years, especially in emerging economies. Pharmaceutical companies play a very important role in a population’s well-being and health through the CSR and corporate governance practices that they apply.Methods: We used an exploratory approach to measure compliance with the Corporate Governance Code of pharmaceutical companies listed on the Romanian capital market and with practices declared through CSR.Results: The results show that pharmaceutical companies are involved in actions that consider the well-being of society by offering financial support and managing various sustainable projects, targeting social and economic issues, leading public health awareness campaigns, and investing in health projects.Conclusion: This study highlights the increasingly important role played by corporate governance and corporate social responsibility in pharmaceutical companies in improving public health in countries with emerging economies.

Cultural heritage capitalization in rural areas redefines the local development model. Thus, heritage tourism has become the engine of economic activities diversification. This study aims to identify a decision-making-model substantiating algorithm in order to support the local heritage capitalization (lesser known on the international cultural consumption market), based on three types of qualitative researches, and the improved Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) method. In case of lesser known heritage, trademark potential and international cultural tourism route for heritage capitalization are smart choices for the innovative local hub development. The developed AHP version allows for a broader investigation of the characteristics that can lead to a trademark associated development based on integrated and innovative tourism products. To substantiate our approach and validate the model, we conducted a pilot study on a geographic area (Southern Transylvania, Romania), slightly exploited from the perspective of heritage potential, and characterized by a combination of heritage assets. The study’s results can be used by local authorities as a foundation for sound and strategic development of the area with economic potential from tangible and intangible heritage (re)interpretation.

In the context of the globalization and internationalization of economies, to efficiently attract financial and intellectual capital that is necessary for business sustainability, the mechanisms of corporate governance have to be based on gaining the trust of all the interested parties. These objectives require an organizational culture and a climate which is based on correctness, responsibility, transparency, and efficiency, in which ethical principles govern the spread of behaviors in the entire entity. This research identifies the relation between the corporate governance and the entities’ financial performance using the specific context of Romania. The findings of this study reveal new insights on the corporate governance and financial performance based on a sample of companies listed on the Bucharest Stock Exchange. The results show a positive correlation between the net accounting results, earnings per share, and the duality of the CEO, and a negative correlation between price per share and the duality of the CEO.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the economy was strongly affected by the restrictions imposed by the authorities to prevent the spread of the virus, and local online platforms and e-commerce experienced an accelerated rate of growth. Small producers had no chance of staying on the market if they did not choose to reorient their business to the online environment. The purpose of this study is to highlight the determinants of consumer behavior on online market platforms, as well as the barriers that affect the intention to shop online. By conducting a qualitative survey and applying a probit OLS binary choice model, the analysis was centered on several variables with expected important impact on quick and flexible response/adaptation to new market profile, such as the age of the respondents, the level of income, the trend of online purchasing of different categories of goods, and the propensity towards online payment. The results underlined the importance perceived by the respondents of local producers, especially by people with a high level of education. At the same time, the role of the age variable as a determinant of consumer behavior before, during, and after the removal of the restrictions of the COVID-19 pandemic is highlighted.

Economic development in a national and international context must be based on a sustainability strategy established on the systemic interaction between the economic, sociocultural, and ecological environments. Today, the world is confronted by many challenges related to climate change and natural-resource flows, including waste streams resulting from economic activity. The need for national and European environmental standards and the work of an environment monitoring authority to reduce air pollution are highlighted by economic and industrial activities. Thus, our research focused on determining if emissions of sulfur dioxide (SO₂), nitrogen (NO₂), and particulate matter 10 (PM₁₀) are influenced by planned and unplanned inspections made by competent authorities from Romania. We built a regression model that estimates the influence of economic measures imposed by the authorities on reducing industrial air pollution. Preliminary results showed that the number of inspections negatively influences air pollution, indicating that national and local authorities in Romania are striving to maintain air quality and are conducting more inspections when air pollution is high.