<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">

The COVID-19 outbreak has created a severe crisis for the general economic situation. Despite the short duration of the pandemic, many innovations are implemented for organizational survival and recovery in the competitive market environment of digital age. This paper aims to find out significant factors and how they impact on E-commerce adoption by small and medium-sized enterprises in Vietnam, especially during the epidemic. The results reveal that technology perceived compatibility has the greatest effect on E-commerce adoption, followed by management support and external pressure. Moreover, external support only has minor impact on E-commerce adoption during the Covid-19. Meaningfully, this study makes a contribution to both innovation literature and practical management with new insight of current Vietnamese situation for small and medium-sized organizations.
</abstract>

Towards an economic recovery after the COVID-19 pandemic: empirical study on electronic commerce adoption by small and medium-sized enterprises in Vietnam

<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">

In this paper, we aim to find answer to a single question: what are the characteristics of firms with superior use of alliance learning practices? Consequently, we aim to discover the characteristics of firms which are more preoccupied to learn from their strategic alliances. We investigate this research question through a statistical analysis of the answers provided by 46 best performing medium and large-sized companies operating in Romania. By means of several multilinear regressions and an analysis of variance, we found that the companies with superior use of alliance learning practices – thus, more preoccupied to learn – are more proactive, build an alliance culture favouring the use of alliances, develop relational attributes in their alliances (e.g., trust), respectively monitor and control their alliance activity to a higher degree. Contrary to expectations, the companies with superior use of alliance learning practices do not collaborate to a higher degree horizontally, with their competitors and complementors. In terms of the dispersion of companies depending on their use of alliance learning practices, to a high degree (34.1%), the differences between companies can be explained by the proposed set of characteristics developed in this paper. Our findings contribute to the existent literature in the field of alliances, bringing empirical evidence on the characteristics that companies need to develop to better learn from their strategic alliances. In addition, executives of medium and large-sized companies find in this paper valuable information regarding the nurturing of alliance knowledge acquisition and transfer from their strategic allies and partners.
</abstract>

Development of supportive characteristics to facilitate learning from strategic alliances

<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">

People have always been interested in improving their quality of life. But how is this possible when the population is constantly growing, and the planet’s resources are dwindling? The efficient use of resources is not only believed to increase the general quality of life but also to contribute to the creation of a cleaner environment. But what is the relation between resource efficiency and a cleaner environment? The European Commission and the United Nations have been dealing with this key issue for many years now and the EU has forced member countries to meet certain targets. This paper presents some of the UN and EU’s policies with regard to climate change and resource efficiency and offers an independent evaluation of the achievements of Member States. We assumed that the implementation of the objectives of the EU climate and energy package improves the resource productivity and reduces its negative impact on the environment, relation analysed with the help of a linear regression model. Further, we have performed a critical study on the performance of EU-member states in meeting their GHG-emission targets correlated with the resource intensity of their economies, modelled using Microsoft Excel. Resource efficiency and the low-carbon economy have emerged as central themes in global discussions on the transition to a sustainable economy, and this paper sheds new light onto the connection between the two subjects.
</abstract>

Resource efficiency and decarbonisation of economies in the European Union

<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">

With the advent of innovative marketing, the increasing use of brand personality concepts for the promotion of a brand or product has received scholarly work across the globe. Yet little is known in the literature about the dimensions of brand personality and its applicability in the telecommunication industry. Considering the known link between brand personality and customer purchase intent, this research sought to examine the impact of the brand personality dimension on customer buying decisions in the telecoms sector. A positivist research paradigm was used to attain the study goal(s) with valid data of 414 subscribers (customers) of telecom giants in Ghana. The result from the PLS-SEM technique identified five main attributes of brand personality (ie. sincerity, excitement, competence, sophistication, and ruggedness) as antecedents of customer buying decisions in the research model. Findings revealed that brand sincerity, brand excitement, and brand competence have a significant relationship with customer buying decisions. Whereas brand sophistication and ruggedness were not. An effective brand increases its brand equity by having a consistent set of traits that a specific consumer segment enjoys. This article not only provides empirical insight into the brand personality literature but also serves as a source of information for managers in the telecom industry to successfully trigger strategic marketing practices that would help to optimize the usefulness of the brand personality concept. Limitations and future research directions are discussed.
</abstract>

Examining the influence of brand personality dimension on consumer buying decision: evidence from Ghana

<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">

The first computers were made as early as in the 20th century, but the rapid development of digitalisation took place in the 21st century. Nowadays, Industry 4.0 has created a network connection between man and machines. Without computers and the Internet, the world is unthinkable. Digitalisation is pervading every part of our lives. Whether at work or in our leisure activities, digitalisation and the use of digital tools are present. The digital revolution was started by computers and is now an indispensable our lives, for example with the internet, mobile phones, cloud solutions and self-driving cars. It's no coincidence that digital competence is no longer an expectation, but an obligation for employers and employees alike. Several studies have undertaken to define digital skills; however, we can talk about a rather complex competence. The current study examines the question in the dimension of the European Union from a multitude of aspects. The authors use the DESI index and EU statistics on this topic to find correlations between digital potential, use of tools and the exploitation of opportunities offered by digitalisation in thirteen countries. The authors primarily examined the impact of the level of digital infrastructure and the frequency of Internet use on digital skills. It is outlined from statistics that Scandinavian countries have a leading role in the digital competition. Nevertheless, our results throw light on the individual level that digital skills forcefully improve during browsing on the internet, and practical activities have a significant role in development, which the authors named PMP.
</abstract>

Hungarian University of Agriculture and Life Sciences

Digital competence development in a few countries of the European Union

<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">

By highlighting the importance of tracking the maturity of various phenomena, this study aims at facilitating their response to the emerging changes and reducing the complexity of organizational management processes. To support business excellence and organization management in the SMART WORLD era, special attention was paid to previous findings. The pilot study research was carried out on a sample of 107 enterprises from Poland and Lithuania. The results of the data analysis collected during the quantitative research and their mapping identified: currently leading trends (mainstream - “new normal trends”), trends expected to undergo the development in short/medium/long term perspective and trends labelled as “no future” - fads or one step before their time. Research results were the basis for expressing preliminary conclusions about how to reduce uncertainty and complexity of the process of strategic decision making by contemporary managers.
</abstract>

The Bucharest University of Economic Studies

Mapping the maturity of SMART WORLD trends as a tool for developing business excellence and reducing organizational complexity

<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">

As COVID-19 had been posing unprecedented challenges, the economic agents as well as the individuals had to adapt to a new lifestyle. The preventing measures against the spread of the virus determined an increase in e-commerce activity in general, and in mobile commerce in particular. In this regard, sellers redefined their strategies revolving around smartphone applications for online shopping, which will gradually become the global shopping standard. Therefore, the aim of this paper is to evaluate the current situation of e-commerce, focusing on the main transformations since the beginning of the pandemic. The methods used in the paper consist in both qualitative research of the literature regarding e-commerce and a quantitative analysis that captures two aspects: on one hand it highlights the change determined by the pandemic in online commerce, and on the other hand it shows an X-ray of the EU states positioning in terms of e-commerce evolution. The latter consists in a comparative Hierarchical Cluster Analysis that aims to provide an image on the situation of EU states, before and after the pandemic has been installed. The Cluster Analysis was carried out in SPSS software and it is based on a series of chosen indicators from Eurostat database. This comparison provides an image of how changes among the clusters take place in terms of e-commerce indicators. It is noted that in countries where the digitization was more developed, the value of the change in online commerce was less considerable, comparing to the Eastern and Balkan states, which had a more significant increase. However, there are significant limitations based on the small number of indicators taken into consideration in this paper. Future work needs to be done in order to explore new ways to address the challenges identified in the development of e-commerce and online shopping.
</abstract>

The change in e-commerce in the context of the Coronavirus pandemic

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