marketing and business developmentabstracts of the 1st international conference marketing and...

Abstracts of the 1st International Conference

Marketing and Business Development

November 21-24, 2013

Bucharest, Romania

Scientific editors:

Professor Ionel Dumitru, PhD

Senior Lecturer Mihaela Constantinescu, PhD

Senior Lecturer Ștefan Claudiu Căescu, PhD

Edition prepared by:

Senior Lecturer Alina Filip, PhD

Senior Lecturer Andreea Mihaela Barbu, PhD

Lecturer Alin Valentin Angheluță, PhD

Lecturer Cristian Ionuț Tatu, PhD

Lucian-Florin Onișor, PhDc

Organized under the patronage of

Marketing Faculty, Bucharest University of Economic Studies

Marketing Zoom Expert Ltd.

International Conference “Marketing and Business Development”, Bucharest 2013 www.marketingevents.ro/mbd.ro

Bucharest University of Economic Studies Publishing House

ISSN: 2344-5130

ISSN-L: 2344-5130

International Conference ―Marketing and Business Development‖, Bucharest 2013

www.marketingevents.ro/mbd.ro

This volume comprises the abstracts of the scientific papers accepted by the Scientific Committee

of the 1st Edition of the International Conference ―Marketing and Business Development‖ MBD 2013,

November 21-24, 2013, Bucharest, Romania

The publication of the papers in the International Journal of Economic Practices and Theories Vol

4, 2014, ISSN: 2247 – 7225 (online) will be made after Conference participation. To increase objectivity

of evaluation a double-blinded review procedure will be applied by the editorial advisory board of the

journal. JEPT is an open access journal that is listed/indexed (partial or total) in the following academic

databases/directories and document sharing platforms: Index Copernicus, WorldCat, RePEc, Open J-

Gate, EconPapers, Journal TOCs, New Jour, IDEAS, Cabell’s Directories, EBSCO, Open Archives,

Science Central, OCLC, BASE, PDF Cast, Scribd, ISeeK, Academic Index, PKP Open Archives

Harvester, Microsoft Academic Search and Google Scholar. More information is available on the journal

web page www.ijept.org

The papers published in this volume are exclusively engaging authors.

http://www.ijept.org/



Conference Chairperson

Professor Ionel Dumitru, PhD, Bucharest University of Economic Studies, Romania

Scientific Committee

Professor Carmen Bălan, PhD, Bucharest University of Economic Studies, Romania

Professor Daniel Șerbanică, PhD, Bucharest University of Economic Studies, Romania

Professor Calin PetricăVegheș, PhD, Bucharest University of Economic Studies, Romania

Senior Lecturer Diana Maria Vrânceanu, PhD, Bucharest University of Economic Studies, Romania

Professor Luigi Dumitrescu, PhD, Lucian Blaga University of Sibiu, Romania

Professor Gabriel Brătucu, PhD, Transilvania University of Brașov, Romania

Professor Gheorghe Epuran, PhD, Vasile Alecsandri University of Bacău, Romania

Professor Normand Turgeon, PhD, HEC Montréal, Canada

Senior Lecturer Anca Francisca Cruceru, PhD, Bucharest University of Economic Studies, Romania

Senior Lecturer Mihaela Constantinescu, PhD, Bucharest University of Economic Studies, Romania

Senior Lecturer Ștefan Claudiu Căescu, PhD, Bucharest University of Economic Studies, Romania

Organization Committee

Chairpersons:

Professor Ionel Dumitru, PhD, Bucharest University of Economic Studies, Romania

Senior Lecturer Mihaela Constantinescu, PhD, Bucharest University of Economic Studies, Romania

Senior Lecturer Ștefan Claudiu Căescu, PhD, Bucharest University of Economic Studies, Romania

Members:

Senior Lecturer Alina Filip, PhD, Bucharest University of Economic Studies, Romania

Senior Lecturer Andreea Mihaela Barbu, PhD, Bucharest University of Economic Studies, Romania

Lecturer Alin Valentin Angheluță, PhD, Bucharest University of Economic Studies, Romania

Lecturer Cristian Ionuț Tatu, PhD, Bucharest University of Economic Studies, Romania

Economist Lucian Onișor, PhDc, Bucharest University of Economic Studies, Romania

Lecturer Mara Gabriela Ploeșteanu, PhD, Bucharest University of Economic Studies, Romania

Assistant Daniela Ioniță, PhD, Bucharest University of Economic Studies, Romania

Senior Lecturer Mihai Orzan, PhD, Bucharest University of Economic Studies, Romania

Senior Lecturer Alin Stancu, PhD, Bucharest University of Economic Studies, Romania



1st International Conference on

Marketing and Business Development

Conference Program

21-24 November, 2013



Bucharest, Romania

Thursday, 21st of November 2013

09:00-10:00 Registration

10:00-11:40 Opening Ceremony and Keynote Speakers

Prof. Călin Petrică Vegheș – Dean of Marketing Faculty

Alina Șerbanică – ESOMAR Representative for Romania

Dan & Marius Ştefan – Autonom

Dragoș Cîrneci – Synergon Consulting

11:40-12:00 Coffee Break

12:00-13:30 Parallel Sessions (I & II)

13:30-15:00 Lunch

15:00-18:00 Parallel Sessions (III & IV)



Session I- 12:00-13:30 - Schumann Room

Chairpersons:

Mihai Orzan

Ionel Dumitru

Paper

ID Authors Paper Title

105

Normand Turgeon,

Mai Thi Thanh Thai

Gheorghe Epuran

OSH Start-ups’ Business Development

Challenges: The Case of SENSORICA from a

Total Integrated Marketing Perspective

117 Hanifi Murat Mutlu

Hasan Aksoy

Strategic Orientations, Firm Capabilities, and

Export Performance: An Empirical Analysis in

Turkey

124 Timea Demeter

Gabriel Brătucu

Modern Heating Systems - Population's View

and Perspectives

130 Liliana Duguleană

Constantin Duguleană

Analysing the Economic Potential of Romanian

Administrative Regions

141

Mete Sezgin

Osman Unuvar

Murat Gumus

Projections on Investment Guidelines for the

City of Karaman (TURKEY) with the Purpose

of Tourism Marketing

145

Gheorghe Orzan

Ana-Maria Radu

Mihai Orzan

Online Tourism Marketing: Changes and

Challenges of the Information Society



Session II- 12:00-13:30 - Victor Slăvescu Room

Chairpersons:

Alin Stancu

Mihaela Constantinescu

Paper


104 Zhihong Gao

Elaine A. Scorpio

The Priming Effects of News about Asia on Attitudes toward

Advertisements with Asian Models

108

Jurgita

Stravinskiene

Ieva Dauksaite

Aiste Dovaliene

Country Image Formation in the Online Media: The Case of

United Kingdom in the Lithuanian Online Media

143

Ştefan Boboc

Valerică Olteanu

Alin Stancu

Social Responsibility on the Electricity Market. A Semantic

Analysis

128 Andreea Orîndaru Building University Brand through Specific Marketing

Instruments

121 Alexandru Lucian

Mihai

Classical Media Relations and Social Media Relations in

Sport

114

Daniel Moise

Anca Francisca

Cruceru

The Use of Gamification in Events Marketing

147 Ramona Groapa

Ștefan Căescu

Brand Marketing upon Generations: the Why of Who Reacts

with Yes?

135 Valerică Olteanu

Cătălin Curmei

Relationship Strategy - Marketing Programmes Within Small

And Medium-Sized Enterprises



Session III - 15:00- 18:00 - Schumann Room

Chairpersons:

Mara Gabriela Ploeșteanu

Andreea Mihaela Barbu

Paper


102

Azhar Ahmad

Sallehuddin Mohd Noor

Che Aniza Che Wel

Factors Influencing Consumers’ Purchase

Decision of Private Label Brand Products

112 Mădălina-Alexandra

Coțiu

Consumer Satisfaction in the Healthcare

Sector. A Critical Review of Some Empirical

Studies

142 Elisabeta Ioanăș

Ivona Stoica

Social Media and its Impact on Consumers

Behavior

152 Ionel Dumitru

Diana Maria Vrânceanu

Legal And Ethical Marketing. Theoretical And

Practical Issues

133 Elena-Irina Petrică

The Adjustment of Supply to Educational

Institutions of Higher Education in Romania to

Labour Market Requirements

151

Stere Stamule

Mara Ploeșteanu

Cristian Tatu

Consumer Education Using Social Marketing

132

Eva-Cristina Petrescu

Maria Ioncică

Diana Ioncică

Perception of Natural Risks in Romania

149 Dragoș Cîrneci

Alin Valentin Angheluță

The Use of Neuromarketing in the Study of

Brand Salience. Case Study – Romanian Food

Brands

148 Ramona Groapa

Ștefan Căescu

Blink Marketing: Managing the Seconds before

Buying a Product

150 Mihaela Constantinescu Segmentation in Sports – Analysing the

Behavior of the Sport’s Consumer



Session IV - 15:00-18:00 - Victor Slăvescu Room

Chairpersons:

Daniela Ioniță

Ștefan Claudiu Căescu

Paper


103 Romina

Cheraghalizadeh

The Role of Marketing in Tourism and Hospitality

Development: Case Study: Mazandaran-Iran

109 Iulia Roșoiu

Andreea Roșoiu

The Relation between Unemployment Rate and

Economic Growth in USA

110 Andreea Roşoiu

Iulia Roşoiu

Monetary Policy Transmission Mechanism in Romania

- a Bayesian VAR Approach

115

Drago Cvijanovic

Branko Mihailovic

Aleksandra Nikolic

Market Research and Marketing Information Systems

116 Ghassan Shakhshir The Positioning Analysis of Premium Food Brands in

the Romanian Market

113

Anca Francisca

Cruceru

Daniel Moise

Competitive and Anti-Competitive Behavior of

Organizations from a Marketing Perspective

118 Irina Albăstroiu

Mihai Felea

The Implications of User-Generated Content Websites

for Tourism Marketing

146 Lucian-Florin Onișor

Doina Drăniceanu

Marketing and Innovation: The Inventor’s Point of

View

129 Marco Pister ITC Analysts & Analyst Relations

127

Vanessa L. Christie

Lawrence R. Slade

Tiffany S. Ho

The Case for Small Business to Small Business

(SB2SB) Consulting in Romania: An Innovative

Approach to Assisting Emerging Businesses

144 Michael Welch

Factors of Food Security and Consumer-Based Brand

Equity: Charoen Pokphand Foods PCL (C.P. Foods),

Thailand



TABLE OF CONTENTS

OSH START-UPS’ BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT CHALLENGES: THE CASE OF SENSORICA FROM A TOTAL

INTEGRATED MARKETING PERSPECTIVE .............................................................................................................. 14

NORMAND TURGEON .............................................................................................................................................................. 14

MAI THI THANH THAI ............................................................................................................................................................ 14

GHEORGHE EPURAN ............................................................................................................................................................... 14

STRATEGIC ORIENTATIONS, FIRM CAPABILITIES, AND EXPORT PERFORMANCE: AN EMPIRICAL

ANALYSIS IN TURKEY ................................................................................................................................................... 15

HANIFI MURAT MUTLU .......................................................................................................................................................... 15

HASAN AKSOY ......................................................................................................................................................................... 15

MODERN HEATING SYSTEMS - POPULATION'S VIEW AND PERSPECTIVES .................................................... 16

TIMEA DEMETER..................................................................................................................................................................... 16

GABRIEL BRĂTUCU ................................................................................................................................................................. 16

ANALYZING THE ECONOMIC POTENTIAL OF ROMANIAN ADMINISTRATIVE REGIONS ............................ 17

LILIANA DUGULEANĂ ............................................................................................................................................................. 17

CONSTANTIN DUGULEANĂ ...................................................................................................................................................... 17

PROJECTIONS ON INVESTMENT GUIDELINES FOR THE CITY OF KARAMAN (TURKEY) WITH THE

PURPOSE OF TOURISM MARKETING ........................................................................................................................ 18

METE SEZGIN ....................................................................................................................................................................... 18

OSMAN UNUVAR ................................................................................................................................................................... 18

MURAT GUMUS ..................................................................................................................................................................... 18

ONLINE TOURISM MARKETING: CHANGES AND CHALLENGES OF THE INFORMATION SOCIETY .......... 19

ORZAN GHEORGHE ................................................................................................................................................................. 19

RADU ANA-MARIA .................................................................................................................................................................. 19

ORZAN MIHAI ......................................................................................................................................................................... 19

THE PRIMING EFFECTS OF NEWS ABOUT ASIA ON ATTITUDES TOWARD ADVERTISEMENTS WITH

ASIAN MODELS ............................................................................................................................................................... 20

ZHIHONG GAO......................................................................................................................................................................... 20

ELAINE A. SCORPIO ................................................................................................................................................................ 20

COUNTRY IMAGE FORMATION IN THE ONLINE MEDIA: THE CASE OF UNITED KINGDOM IN THE

LITHUANIAN ONLINE MEDIA ...................................................................................................................................... 21

JURGITA STRAVINSKIENE ....................................................................................................................................................... 21

IEVA DAUKSAITE ..................................................................................................................................................................... 21

AISTE DOVALIENE................................................................................................................................................................... 21

SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY ON THE ELECTRICITY MARKET. A SEMANTIC ANALYSIS .................................. 22

ŞTEFAN BOBOC ....................................................................................................................................................................... 22

VALERICĂ OLTEANU ............................................................................................................................................................... 22

ALIN STANCU .......................................................................................................................................................................... 22

BUILDING UNIVERSITY BRAND THROUGH SPECIFIC MARKETING INSTRUMENTS ..................................... 23

ANDREEA ORÎNDARU .............................................................................................................................................................. 23

CLASSICAL MEDIA RELATIONS AND SOCIAL MEDIA RELATIONS IN SPORT ................................................. 24

ALEXANDRU LUCIAN MIHAI ................................................................................................................................................. 24



THE USE OF GAMIFICATION IN EVENTS MARKETING ......................................................................................... 25

DANIEL MOISE ........................................................................................................................................................................ 25

ANCA FRANCISCA CRUCERU .................................................................................................................................................. 25

BRAND MARKETING UPON GENERATIONS:THE WHY OF WHO REACTS WITH YES? .................................. 26

RAMONA GROAPA ................................................................................................................................................................ 26

ȘTEFAN CLAUDIU CĂESCU ................................................................................................................................................... 26

RELATIONSHIP STRATEGY - MARKETING PROGRAMMES WITHIN SMALL AND MEDIUM-SIZED

ENTERPRISES .................................................................................................................................................................. 27

VALERICĂ OLTEANU ........................................................................................................................................................... 27

CĂTĂLIN VALERIU CURMEI ................................................................................................................................................. 27

FACTORS INFLUENCING CONSUMERS’ PURCHASE DECISION OF PRIVATE LABEL BRAND PRODUCTS 28

AZHAR AHMAD ....................................................................................................................................................................... 28

SALLEHUDDIN MOHD NOOR ................................................................................................................................................... 28

CHE ANIZA CHE WEL ............................................................................................................................................................. 28

CONSUMER SATISFACTION IN THE HEALTHCARE SECTOR. A CRITICAL REVIEW OF SOME EMPIRICAL

STUDIES ............................................................................................................................................................................ 29

MĂDĂLINA-ALEXANDRA COȚIU ............................................................................................................................................. 29

SOCIAL MEDIA AND ITS IMPACT ON CONSUMERS BEHAVIOR .......................................................................... 30

ELISABETA IOANĂȘ ................................................................................................................................................................. 30

IVONA STOICA ......................................................................................................................................................................... 30

LEGAL AND ETHICAL MARKETING. THEORETICAL AND PRACTICAL ISSUES .............................................. 31

DUMITRU IONEL ...................................................................................................................................................................... 31

DIANA MARIA VRÂNCEANU .................................................................................................................................................... 31

THE ADJUSTMENT OF SUPPLY TO EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER EDUCATION IN

ROMANIA TO LABOUR MARKET REQUIREMENTS ................................................................................................ 32

PETRICĂ ELENA-IRINA ........................................................................................................................................................ 32

CONSUMER EDUCATION USING SOCIAL MARKETING ......................................................................................... 33

STERE STAMULE ..................................................................................................................................................................... 33

MARA PLOIEȘTEANU ............................................................................................................................................................... 33

CRISTIAN TATU ....................................................................................................................................................................... 33

PERCEPTION OF NATURAL RISKS IN ROMANIA .................................................................................................... 34

PETRESCU EVA-CRISTINA ................................................................................................................................................... 34

IONCICĂ MARIA ................................................................................................................................................................... 34

IONCICĂ DIANA .................................................................................................................................................................... 34

THE USE OF NEUROMARKETING IN THE STUDY OF BRAND SALIENCE. CASE STUDY – ROMANIAN

FOOD BRANDS ................................................................................................................................................................. 35

DRAGOS CÎRNECI .................................................................................................................................................................... 35

ALIN VALENTIN ANGHELUȚĂ ................................................................................................................................................. 35

BLINK MARKETING: MANAGING THE SECONDS BEFORE BUYING A PRODUCT ........................................... 36

ȘTEFAN CLAUDIU CĂESCU ................................................................................................................................................... 36

RAMONA GROAPA ................................................................................................................................................................ 36

SEGMENTATION IN SPORTS – ANALYZING THE BEHAVIOR OF THE SPORT’S CONSUMER ........................ 37

CONSTANTINESCU MIHAELA .................................................................................................................................................. 37

PAPER TITLE: THE ROLE OF MARKETING IN TOURISM AND HOSPITALITY DEVELOPMENT: CASE



STUDY: MAZANDARAN-IRAN ...................................................................................................................................... 38

ROMINA CHERAGHALIZADEH ................................................................................................................................................ 38

THE RELATION BETWEEN UNEMPLOYMENT RATE AND ECONOMIC GROWTH IN USA ............................. 39

IULIA ROȘOIU .......................................................................................................................................................................... 39

ANDREEA ROȘOIU ................................................................................................................................................................... 39

MONETARY POLICY TRANSMISSION MECHANISM IN ROMANIA - A BAYESIAN VAR APPROACH ............ 40

ANDREEA ROȘOIU ................................................................................................................................................................... 40

IULIA ROȘOIU .......................................................................................................................................................................... 40

MARKET RESEARCH AND MARKETING INFORMATION SYSTEMS ................................................................... 41

DRAGO CVIJANOVIC ............................................................................................................................................................... 41

BRANKO MIHAILOVIC ............................................................................................................................................................. 41

ALEKSANDRA NIKOLIC ........................................................................................................................................................... 41

THE POSITIONING ANALYSIS OF PREMIUM FOOD BRANDS IN THE ROMANIAN MARKET ........................ 42

GHASSAN SHAKHSHIR ............................................................................................................................................................. 42

COMPETITIVE AND ANTI-COMPETITIVE BEHAVIOR OF ORGANIZATIONS FROM A MARKETING

PERSPECTIVE .................................................................................................................................................................. 43

ANCA FRANCISCA CRUCERU .................................................................................................................................................. 43

DANIEL MOISE ........................................................................................................................................................................ 43

THE IMPLICATIONS OF USER-GENERATED CONTENT WEBSITES FOR TOURISM MARKETING ............... 44

IRINA ALBĂSTROIU ................................................................................................................................................................. 44

MIHAI FELEA .......................................................................................................................................................................... 44

MARKETING AND INNOVATION: THE INVENTOR’S POINT OF VIEW ............................................................... 45

LUCIAN-FLORIN ONIȘOR ........................................................................................................................................................ 45

DOINA DRĂNICEANU ............................................................................................................................................................... 45

ITC ANALYSTS & ANALYST RELATIONS .................................................................................................................. 46

MARCO PISTER ....................................................................................................................................................................... 46

THE CASE FOR SMALL BUSINESS TO SMALL BUSINESS (SB2SB) CONSULTING IN ROMANIA: AN

INNOVATIVE APPROACH TO ASSISTING EMERGING BUSINESSES ................................................................... 47

VANESSA L. CHRISTIE............................................................................................................................................................. 47

LAWRENCE R. SLADE.............................................................................................................................................................. 47

TIFFANY S. HO ........................................................................................................................................................................ 47

FACTORS OF FOOD SECURITY AND CONSUMER-BASED BRAND EQUITY: CHAROEN POKPHAND FOODS

PCL (C.P. FOODS), THAILAND ...................................................................................................................................... 48

MICHAEL WELCH ................................................................................................................................................................... 48



Session I

OSH Start-ups’ Business Development Challenges: The Case of SENSORICA from a

Total Integrated Marketing Perspective

Normand Turgeon

HEC Montréal

[email protected]

Mai Thi Thanh Thai

HEC Montréal

[email protected]

Gheorghe Epuran

―Transilvania‖ University of Brasov

[email protected]

Key words: open source hardware, open enterprise, total integrated marketing, growth strategy, business

development, interface management.

JEL classification: M13, M31.

While open-source software (OSS) networks have been part of the business landscape for some time, most

open source hardware (OSH) organisations are still in the development stage, and marketing for OSH is still poorly

understood. This paper presents a case study of SENSORICA, an award-winning Canadian OSH production

network in the bio-medical research instruments market, to illustrate the challenges that OSH businesses face in

developing their business. Normative results of this case study highlight the relevance of total integrated marketing

(TIM) in OSH business development. In this article, we explain TIM and how it can help OSH business

development relative to the four functional interfaces in marketing: Marketing-Accounting/Finance, Marketing-

Human Resources, Marketing-Customer Service, and Marketing-Sales. On the Marketing-Human Resources

interface, the success of OSH is dependent on both the quantity and quality of active members in the network. The

Marketing-Accounting/Finance interface is important in activities related to financing, reporting, and member

compensation evaluation. The Marketing-Customer Service interface is important in developing long-term

satisfaction and loyalty. Finally, on the Marketing-Sales interface, members must limit rivalry between functions

and focus on building linkages and delivering results.



Strategic Orientations, Firm Capabilities, and Export Performance: An Empirical

Analysis in Turkey

Hanifi Murat Mutlu

Gaziantep University, Department of International Trade and Logistics

[email protected]

Hasan Aksoy

Gaziantep University, Department of International Trade and Logistics

[email protected]

Key words: Customer Orientation, Entrepreneurial Orientation, Brand Orientation, Export Performance, Turkish

Gold Jewellery Sector.

JEL classification: M31.

According to ―Gold Jewellery Sector Reports 2012‖ which was made by Republic of Turkey-Ministry of

Economy, Turkey is one of the global leaders in gold jewellery production and in gold jewellery exports. Turkey

has approximately 500 exporter firms. In 2011, gold jewellery export sales was 1.8 billion dollars, import was

349.6 million dollars in Turkey. Main aim of this study is to investigate the relationships between strategic

orientations (customer, entrepreneurial, and brand) and export performance in Turkish jewellery exporter firms. In

addition we study the effects of firm capability (customer relationship capability and brand capability) on export

performance. Therefore, the study tested the hypotheses and investigated both direct and indirect effects among the

research variables. For testing our hypotheses, questionnaires were given to jewellery exporter firms by e-mail. We

used convenience sampling method. The research hypotheses were tested by correlation and regression analyses.

The results indicated that there were strong relationships among the research variables. Finally, theoretical and

managerial implications of the study findings are discussed.



Modern Heating Systems - Population's View and Perspectives

Timea Demeter

Transilvania University from Brașov, Romania

[email protected]

Gabriel Brătucu

Transilvania University from Brașov, Romania

gabriel.bră[email protected]

Key words: district heating, floor heating, heating panels, , micro thermal plant, modern heating systems.

JEL classification: M30, M31, M37.

Due to large changes in the extensive district heating networks in Romania, around the year 2000, the

market for heating systems, presented new opportunities for private companies to start their activities in this field.

The mainly demanded products were the micro thermal plants, due to their cost efficiency and the independence

they provided, but with the disadvantages of high acquisition and installation prices, together with increased level

of pollution. This determined buyers to focus their attention toward more modern solutions, such as, floor heating

and radiant heating panels. Although these systems have been on the market for 5 years now, the majority of the

population is still sceptical when it comes to using one. Based on this, the aim of the paper is to determine the view

Brasov’s population has on these modern heating systems, also providing a perspective for companies operating in

this field. In order to determine this, a quantitative research was conducted, on 300 households. Because modern

heating systems entered the market just 5 years ago, a very small number of studies were carried out in this field,

providing this research a high level of innovation. The results present the heating systems most frequently used by

the population, the main criteria taken into consideration when purchasing, the amount of money people are willing

to spend on it, together with the level of awareness of the population regarding modern heating systems, and the

reasons for which they are reserved when it comes to buying one.



Analyzing the Economic Potential of Romanian Administrative Regions

Liliana Duguleană

Faculty of Economic Sciences and Business Administration

[email protected]

Constantin Duguleană

Faculty of Economic Sciences and Business Administration

[email protected]

Key words: administrative regions, counties, economic potential, principal components analysis, regionalization.

JEL classification: O11, R11, R15.

This paper proposes a scientific approach of regionalization activity in Romania. The approach consists of

applying the Principal Components Analysis (PCA), a complex multivariate method for marketing data analysis,

implemented in SPSS, for some instantaneous statistical series of economic indicators available in the Statistical

Yearbook, at the level of one year, here, 2010, collected for all the counties of Romania. After identifying the

significant factors of economic development at the national level, they are combined in two principal components,

depending on the socio-economic meaning of the most correlated variables. Then the PCA is applied for the

counties of each region, using the same socio-economic variables identified as principal features of the economic

policies undertaken at national level, for all counties, in 2010. In this way there are emphasized the socio-economic

differences between the counties of a region, but also there can be seen the differences between the development

level of regions, depending on the relative positions of their counties, on the same map of the considered economic

coordinates. In this way it can be appreciated the different impact of the economic policies, at national level, and at

regional level. The approach can be repeated for the following years, to see any dynamic changes, as consequences

of the economic policies. The methodology used in this paper can be used to better manage the economy of

Romanian regions and to establish macroeconomic marketing policies to stimulate different regional activities

depending on the economic targets.



PROJECTIONS on INVESTMENT GUIDELINES for the CITY of KARAMAN

(TURKEY) with the PURPOSE of TOURISM MARKETING

Mete SEZGIN

Selcuk University

[email protected]

Osman UNUVAR

Necmettin Erbakan University

[email protected]

Murat GUMUS

Selcuk University

[email protected]

Key words: Marketing, Tourism, Aggregate Investment.

JEL classification: M310, L830, E220.

Investigations for Karaman’s tourism marketing would be such an important beginning. Research activities

to enlarge capacity of tourism are very important for developing employment and revenues in the area. General

aims of the research are; to improve competitiveness of area, prepare the Karamans’ tourism investment guide and

to improve awareness of tourism entrepreneurship of city of Karaman. There is a need to rational and feasible

projects in Karaman zone according to touristic investment. For tourism the rule that each offer crates its own

demand is valid. In addition to this it is important that tourism sector is to be run according to modern tourism and

increasing capacity of bed. Karaman has important feature in respect to the footprint in the central Anatolia region.

It is thought that the existence of the sort of alternative tourism. Especially in the presence of alternative tourism

potential of the region and hence the resources, evaluation of these resources workability opportunities, as a result

of economic feasibility of the investment areas will create significant employment opportunities in the new route

will be useful in determining the potential entrepreneurs.



Online Tourism Marketing: Changes and Challenges of the Information Society

Orzan Gheorghe

Academia de Studii Economice din București

[email protected]

Radu Ana-Maria


[email protected]

Orzan Mihai


[email protected]

Key words: infomediaries,online marketing, tourism marketing, marketing strategy.


The advent of Internet technology hasbrought about profound changes to virtually all business practices

and socialinteractions and touristic services are at the forefront of these changes. Thenumber of bricks-and-mortar

travel agencies dropped by more than 50% in thelast decade, as more people gather information about potential

business andentertainment destinations through online word-of-mouth, customer-centric onlineportals and peer

reviewing. Thus, in order to recover lost business generatedby the recent economic recession, travel agencies need

to adapt their marketingstrategies to the ever changing demands of the online consumers, employingtechniques

such as social media marketing, mobile applications, relationshipmarketing and face the des-intermediation and re-

intermediation of thedistribution channels brought about by the all-powerful touristic onlineportals.



Session II

The Priming Effects of News about Asia on Attitudes toward Advertisements with

Asian Models

Zhihong Gao

Department of Marketing, Advertising & Legal Studies, Rider University

[email protected]

Elaine A. Scorpio

Department of Psychology, Rider University

[email protected]

Key words: Priming effects, Asian model, advertising, news context, experiments.


Advertisements frequently interact with editorial content, so that the editorial context functions as primes

on the reading of advertisements. This is especially true in the case of online advertising, where advertisers have

less control over where their ads will appear due to the inherent nature of online advertising buying. To investigate

the effects of the editorial context on advertisements, this paper reports the results of two experiments that

investigated the priming effects of news about Asia on attitudes toward advertisements with Asian models. The

first experiment manipulated types of negative news about China as primes and compared their effects on an

advertisement with either an Asian or a white model and found that model ethnicity influenced ad and brand

attitudes. Negative news items about China produced priming effects, and the outcomes were both contrastive and

assimilative. The second experiment used both positive and negative social news about China and Japan as primes.

There were no country effects; rather positive and negative news about Asian countries had similar priming effects

on advertisements with Asian models.



Country Image Formation in the Online Media: The Case of United Kingdom in the

Lithuanian Online Media

Jurgita Stravinskiene

Kaunas University of Technology, Lithuania

[email protected]

Ieva Dauksaite


[email protected]

Aiste Dovaliene


[email protected]

Key words: country image, Lithuania, online media, the role of online media, United Kingdom.


It is noticed that country image is being formed mainly by international TV and radio broadcasting, articles

in international newspapers and journals, exchange programs of students (or employees), sport events, however the

most effective way to disseminate information about country is the use of online media. Despite the actuality of this

topic the studies in this field are still fragmented. There is lack of comprehensive analysis of online media and its

role in forming a country image from social, economic, political and cultural perspectives. So the research problem

could be stated as follows: How do the online media contribute to the formation of the society’s opinion about the

country image? The aim of the article is to develop a conceptual model for country image formation in the online

media and test it empirically. The case of United Kingdom in the Lithuanian online media was chosen for

qualitative research. Content analysis and focus group study methods were applied. The content analysis revealed

that a socio-cultural influence is the most dominant aspect of the online media for country image formation.

However after eliminating news about sports events no dominant aspects of online media were found. Nonetheless

after focus group study it was found out that the majority of respondents excluded economical influence as the

dominant aspect of online media in country image formation. In summary, research results revealed that the role of

online media in country image formation should be analysed from the economical perspective.



Social Responsibility on the Electricity Market. A Semantic Analysis

Ştefan Boboc

Bucharest University of Economic Studies, Romania

[email protected]

Valerică Olteanu


[email protected]

Alin Stancu


[email protected]

Key words: Social responsibility, electricity, stakeholders, semantic analysis.


Many companies are starting to increase their actions regarding social responsibility on the Romanian

market. This also needs to be accompanied by an increased effort of communication that can be translated in CSR

reports, dedicated web sites, dedicated pages on the company’s site, or even on the social media. This article

presents how semantic analysis can be used in order to gain a deeper understanding of the communication of

companies. Data was presented using word clouds, word tree and phrase net. For a better understanding of the

method we used as a case study the electricity market and the way company’s are taking about CSR. The electricity

market is crucial for the development of a country. On this regard people acknowledge that electricity is important

for their current life, but also they are expecting from those companies to take some social responsibilities.



Building University Brand through Specific Marketing Instruments

Andreea Orîndaru

The Bucharest University of Economic Studies, Romania

[email protected]

Key words: marketing, higher education, university brand.


In the age of massive competition in every area of human activity, universities are not making any

exceptions since they constantly have to deal with competitors aiming for the same potential students or the same

funding options. Given this perspective, using marketing as means of innovative approach to the educational

market and consumer needs is proving to be a viable solution for alleviating the competitors’ burden. One of the

main aims of marketing instruments usage in the higher education institutions is to build a strong university brand

with a range of emotional and rational characteristics that define the institution. The educational field with its

special features is offering a specific way of building and capitalizing a university brand: the university shop.

Testing the impact of this instrument among students for the university brand was possible through a quantitative

research based on an online survey. Main findings of this research refer to students’ readiness to visit a university

shop and even their interest in buying products displaying the university logo. Additionally, this research revealed

that most frequently students identify themselves with university logo, the element that carries most of the

university brand values.



Classical Media Relations and Social Media Relations in Sport

Alexandru Lucian MIHAI

The Doctoral School of The Bucharest University of Economic Studies, Romania

[email protected]

Key words: media relations, public relations, social media, social networks, sport marketing.


The explosion of media outlets bodes well for the future of public relations in sports. Sports PR experts

coordinate the flow of information from teams to the press, and feed the public hunger for sports news items, team

data and player information. They also play an important "promotional" role in generating public interest,

increasing teams' visibility and filling stadiums with fans. Media relations mean maintenance of networks and

positive relationships with people in the media to obtain positive media exposure for a sport product (informal and

formal information sessions with media representatives). Because of the pervasive influence the media has on

marketing success, sport marketers must make concerted efforts to create a positive relationship between their sport

event and the media. They may accomplish this by providing the media with press releases, having news

conferences, having media-day events (in which the media are invited to interact with the players, coaches, and

administrators), providing media guides for the respective sport events and so on. Each of these activities promotes

active involvement from the media, which will subsequently contribute to relationship building with the

community.



The Use of Gamification in Events Marketing

Daniel Moise


[email protected]

Anca Francisca Cruceru


[email protected]

Key words: gamificatiom, events marketing, social media networks.


Marketers have not only the task to attract stakeholders to participate in the events that they organize, but

also make them adopt the behavior that the company wants. In order to achieve this, a new form of strategy is used,

that is gamification. Gamification can be used both in the management of motivating the employees and on

customers, partners such as distributors and suppliers, in order to increase the involvement of the attendees at

different kinds of events, whether we talk about pre event, during or post event, only to attract the attention and

retention of the participants, to generate the desired behavior, at the same time to reach the objectives set for the

events. Through this article we want to show the benefits of using gamification in events marketing and also to

establish what specific strategies of gamification should be used according to the type of event, to reach the

maximum potential of these strategies by taking into account the participants’ structure and profile.



BRAND MARKETING UPON GENERATIONS:THE WHY OF WHO REACTS

WITH YES?

Ramona GROAPA

Management Faculty, Bucharest University of Economic Studies. Romania

[email protected]

Ștefan Claudiu CĂESCU

Marketing Faculty, Bucharest University of Economic Studies. Romania

[email protected]

Key words: customer, success, marketing, generation.


This paper work looks from different points of view at a challenging question regarding customers’ attitude

and buying decision making through the perspective of generational model: what are the selling arguments?

Researches reveal that over time it has been a switch for staying in line: from customers to companies. What is

different now when companies stay in line for customers from times when customers were staying in line for

companies and their goods/ services? What is being revealed by this article is the approach to the buying decision

as interconnected with the type of customer and its’ generation. How do marketing strategies and campaigns care

about the variety of their customers? Who reacts with a yes on what? More than before companies strive to be

different and attract the line to them yet the highly dynamic environment allows no guarantee of any sort of stable

success. Is it innovation a characteristic of new generation? Current successes show that being able to connect with

the variety of new markets yet staying focused on old customers drive performance. It is not about moving the

target but enlarging the view and the tools for empowering future customers to connect starting from now. The

customers are more than ever the people and not the numbers so that innovative marketing should approach them

with a collaborative manner and work together for achieving business success. Brands are now build and buried in

short time periods and new generation seems less attached to well-known brands.



Relationship Strategy - Marketing Programmes within Small and Medium-Sized

Enterprises

Valerică OLTEANU


Cătălin Valeriu CURMEI


[email protected]

Key words: marketing management, SME, planning, strategy, marketing programs.


In the current economic context, strategy appears to be one of the essential elements in the adoption and

implementation of the marketing philosophy (optics) within SMEs. This paper comes in support of this idea by

providing experts concerned with this field a starting point for understanding and proper use of this valuable tool of

marketing planning. This work highlights a number of features of the relationship between strategy and marketing

programs in SMEs to be taken into account by the marketers, in small and medium-sized enterprises in the local

area. Strategy features stand out within small and medium enterprises that aim primarily at how these types of

organizations through their current business model adapt the general strategy model. The drafting of the strategy is

a process in which the consistency of company-specific processes and relationships with future changes of the

external environment is being achieved. The use of strategy as management tool proves its utility regardless of the

features of the external environment. This situation poses a challenge for managers of small and medium

enterprises, who need to take such strategic decisions under varying degrees and types of uncertainty.

Understanding and proper use of the strategy allows the achievement of an efficient coordination of the goals

undertaken by SMEs and the results hoped to be obtained by them. In the current practice of marketing within

small and medium-sized enterprises, there is often the idea that they use a strategy for immediate needs relating to

the market and less attention is paid to the medium- and long-term plans. Thus, this approach contrasts with the

marketing activity within large companies, which is considered as formal, planned and well structured.



Session III

Factors Influencing Consumers’ Purchase Decision of Private Label Brand Products

Azhar Ahmad

Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (National University of Malaysia)

[email protected]

Sallehuddin Mohd Noor


[email protected]

Che Aniza Che Wel


[email protected]

Key words: Private label brands, purchase decision, brand image, perceived quality and retailer.


Private label brand products have increasingly becoming popular since consumers’ loyalty toward store is

higher than their loyalty to brands. Consumers also perceived private label brand products as value purchase and

the quality level of these products have improved. Hence, this study investigates the factors influencing the

purchase of store brand products in Malaysia. The factors include; perceived quality, perceived price, brand image,

and promotion. All four factors have shown positive relationship with purchase decision among the respondents.

Brand image is found to have the strongest correlation while promotion depicted weakest link with purchase

decision. Socio-economic variables are also included in this study. In the findings, household income shows

significant differences in the price perception towards TESCO store brand products. In addition, level of education

is significantly difference towards the perceived quality of store brand products. Several implications could be

derived from the study. TESCO should improve the quality of its store brand products and reposition itself as a

retailer that also promotes quality products. The store could improve the perceived price of its private brands by

increasing the benefits of the products to enhance consumers’ value.



Consumer Satisfaction in the Healthcare Sector. A Critical Review of Some

Empirical Studies

Mădălina-Alexandra Coțiu

Babeș-Bolyai University, Cluj-Napoca, Romania

[email protected]

Key words: patient satisfaction, healthcare, marketing.

JEL classification: I11, M31.

Consumer satisfaction represents one of the guiding principles of marketing as organisations survive and

prosper only by meeting the needs of their customers. A multitude of studies exist as to the definitions and

determinants of consumer satisfaction. Yet, the subject of patient satisfaction with healthcare services has been less

researched although its importance cannot be questioned. Consumer satisfaction in this area is particularly

important in order to achieve greater involvement of the consumer in the healthcare process, patient compliance or

avoiding that dissatisfied patients decide to receive their healthcare treatments from elsewhere. The issue is also a

very complex one due to the particular nature of healthcare as a highly complex professional service which cannot

always present a clear outcome. This makes it difficult for the actual competence of those providing medical care

or the effectiveness of the treatment to be judged. Furthermore, a consensus in the literature as to what is and what

determines patient satisfaction with healthcare services is still far from being reached. This article takes on the

challenge and aims to critically analyse several empirical studies conducted on patient satisfaction in order to

identify and discuss definitions and determinants of patient satisfaction while at the same time suggest areas for

further research. Results show that although a considerable number of determinants have been identified, the lack

of a commonly agreed theoretical framework demands further research and conceptualisation in order to ensure

future development in the field.



Social Media and its Impact on Consumers Behavior

Elisabeta Ioanăș

Bucharest University of Economic Studies

[email protected]

Ivona Stoica

Romanian American University in Bucharest

[email protected]

Key words: social network, online buying, consumer behavior.

JEL classification: M31, L86, N34.

Technology gives consumer the power to investigate products to label them and criticize them in equal

measure, and more. Therefore many companies today have pages on social networks to complement the

information held about products, held by the feedback of consumers about products and tend to relate more to a

company after reading various reviews. The paper is related to the impact of social media on consumer behavior,

therefore it has been made a quantitative research. The sample counted 116 respondents and from the statistical

perspective, the conclusions were established in terms of the univariate and bivariate analysis. Following the

analysis of the research variables we can make a consumer profile that uses social networks. Likewise, after doing

the complex statistical analysis using SPSS and the analysis offered by the online platform the host of

questionnaire, it can be seen how much it is influenced and the real impact of social media reflected in the behavior

changes.



Legal And Ethical Marketing. Theoretical And Practical Issues

Dumitru Ionel


[email protected]

Diana Maria Vrânceanu


[email protected]

Key words: ethical marketing, segmentation.


Legal frame of marketing includes all legal regulations concerning the marketing activities of the

organization and is an element of macroenvironment namely the institutional environment. At the international

level, differences in national legislation relating to the field of marketing are significant. Legal insurance of product

includes all the laws under which the product is guaranteed the rights of intellectual and industrial property.

Deceptive marketing techniques as well as using legal but unfair marketing techniques can create a unfavorable

image of the entire field of marketing and for organisations and represent a ethical problem for the society.



The Adjustment of Supply to Educational Institutions of Higher Education in

Romania to Labour Market Requirements

PETRICĂ Elena-Irina

Universitatea Transilvania din Braşov

[email protected]

Key words: higher education, university, educational offer, request, demand, labor market.


In any economy, the labour market performance would depend largely on the linking of education and

initial vocational training with labour market needs. Proactive connection to higher education to the labor market is

a sine qua non for the development of human capital in terms of economic performance and competitiveness of a

country. Studies highlight a double determination relationship of the level of economic and social development,

and hence the structure of the labour market, the structure of the educational system. The changes occurring in

modern advertising companies redefining the roles of education and diversifying its functions in the context of the

impact of information technology and its effects upon knowledge. The role of education in the contemporary stage

is definitive for the prosperity of society, but also to ensure the conditions so that every individual would have the

opportunity to succeed and to affirm itself in a world in constant change.



Consumer Education Using Social Marketing

Stere Stamule


[email protected]

Mara Ploieșteanu


[email protected]

Cristian Tatu


[email protected]

Key words: Irrational consumption, social marketing, 4Ps, sustainable development.


In the context of the new knowledge-based economy aims this article to present the ways in which social

marketing can help society with of the correction of irrational consumption and sustainable development. The

emergence of this discipline is due to several factors such as the excesses of classical marketing, irrational consume

exacerbations and false advertising. Deviations are today a central topic in current social and economic conditions,

with lower income for consumers and companies. Thus, it is necessary to further investigate the conditions that

enabled these, and with the help of various research techniques to understand consumers today, to find ways to

reduce (the irrational) consume for a simpler life, the healthier and sustainable.



Perception of natural risks in Romania

PETRESCU Eva-Cristina


eva_petrescu @yahoo.com

IONCICĂ Maria


IONCICĂ Diana


Key words: perception of risk, consumer behavior, natural catastrophe, climate change, insurance, direct market

research.


In the last years, there is a rise in climatic disasters: extreme weather events, including storms, floods,

droughts, heat waves, sea waves, heavy rainfall, wet ground slides. The average number of natural disasters

worldwide has increased from about 30 per year in the 1950s to more than 400 since 2000. At the same time the

economic loss increased. Romania has also faced climate change and large areas in Romania are exposed to floods,

which lead to events with disastrous consequences for the population. In this paper we are studying using direct

market research the perception of natural risks in Romania, the perception of tools for protection against natural

risk, main reasons why people choose not to insure.



The use of neuromarketing in the study of brand salience. Case study – Romanian

food brands

Dragos Cîrneci

Synergon Consulting

[email protected]

Alin Valentin Angheluță


[email protected]

Key words: Neuromarketing, brand salience, Romanian food brands.

JEL classification: D87, D03, D12.

Neuromarketing tools give insights into how consumers are reacting to a specific product or advertising —

at subconscious level. Synergon Consulting, one of the pioneering European companies in the field of

neuromarketing, recently conducted a study using functional MRI corroborated with classic focus group insights

investigating in what extent various logos and packages belonging to several food companies manage to capture

attention and to trigger emotions in consumers’ brain. The study has identified that there is an association between

the preference to consume a specific product and the effects this preference has on brain regions associated with

attention and emotion when the consumers see the package of that product. Hence, specific products triggered

activations in the brain areas for emotion and attention only for consumers of those specific products, while this

effect was absent for non-consumers. The top package design selection identified in the focus group correlated with

activation observed in fMRI in the brain’s areas of attention and emotion. An interesting distinction appears

between the traditional and the innovator style of a brand logo, the study identifying higher activations in attention-

related brain structures for new logo as opposed to old brand logo associated with the same company. By contrast,

the top two most familiar brands in our study triggered significant activity in the ―brand region‖ of the brain, as

opposed to other brands, regarded as less familiar. As a result of the research, the Synergon team developed an

online neuromarketing research tool that allows the measurement of consumer attitudes.



Blink Marketing: Managing the Seconds Before Buying a Product

Ștefan Claudiu CĂESCU

Marketing Faculty, Bucharest University of Economic Studies. Romania

[email protected]

Ramona GROAPA

Management Faculty, Bucharest University of Economic Studies. Romania

[email protected]

Key words: purchase, marketing, customer, decision.


The article aims at challenging the question of what is happening in the very seconds before making a

purchase? (or not) through the perspective of people behavior and previous influence of information, image,

recommendations, own research or any other. Companies manage the business, invest in marketing campaigns and

allocate resources for being able to understand how to attract more customers who at the end will pay for their

products and/or services. From this perspective companies put a lot of effort during time so that at the moment of

purchase the customer says yes and spends the money. On the other hand researches show that in any aspect of

people’s lives there are just a few seconds that ―tell‖ them what to do, a like or unlike over a new. This article is

showing the interconnection between this type of behavior and the moment of making a purchase. Is it that the

blink of an eye is enough for telling us what to do? Do different people analyze same factors in making a decision?

What is it that companies should care about essentially in their marketing investments? It’s a new reality we are

living in where information is everywhere and technology gives birth to new features and smart products every

second. But technology is not what makes people or companies smarter but more a prerequisite of current reality.

What makes the difference is the way the companies are able to translate and incorporate them within high value

added solutions for customers.



Segmentation in Sports – Analyzing the Behavior of the Sport’s Consumer

Constantinescu Mihaela

Bucharest University of Economic Studies, Marketing Faculty

[email protected]

Key words: sports marketing, sport’s consumer, sport events, segmentation.


Sport is a multifarious domain that can range from 100% involvement as a player to buying sports

equipment for everyday life activities. Although when we think about sport we think about movement, the sport’s

consumer can have an active involvement (practicing a sport) or a passive one (taking part in sports as a spectator

or watching sport on TV), therefore a segmentation is necessary in order to better target the individual with the

right marketing tools. This paper presents the results of a marketing research on the Romanian market that analyses

the behavior of the sport’s consumer, his involvement in the sports industry and the way sports influences his life

decisions. The main conclusion of this research is that Romania is far from the European statistics when talking

about doing sport (only a third of the population practices at least once a week), but the is a much higher interest in

watching sports on TV, especially the football events. These results can be used first of all in a national strategy for

promoting sport activities, but also in marketing strategies for sport and non-sport companies (especially for those

who what to use sport as a promotional environment and who must know the characteristics of those individuals

that attend or follow a sport event).



Session IV

Paper Title: The Role of Marketing in Tourism and Hospitality Development: Case

Study: Mazandaran-Iran

Romina Cheraghalizadeh

Department of Business Administration, Eastern Mediterranean University, Gazimagusa, Turkish

Republic of Northern Cyprus

[email protected]

Key words: Macroeconomic policy, Infrastructure, Tourism and Hospitality, Regulation strategies.


Despite of Iran's capabilities in the field of tourism and hospitality, unfortunately there are lots of problems

to achieving proper position in this industry. Among the factors that could improve the development of the tourism

industry, applying effective marketing tools and parameters are very important. This study concerned the role of

marketing in the tourism industry in state of Mazandaran. This study has examined five factors that seem they are

related to development of tourism industry in Mazandaran such as the major policy adjustment of country,

Infrastructure development, concerning to tourism attractions, commercial activities and set of strategies based on

the adsorbent distribution. After gathering information and identifying different aspects through interview with

experts, managers and pundits in tourism and hospitality and library studies five hypotheses were developed. The

study population is consisting of managers, experts and scholars in the field of tourism and hospitality including

300 people Sample size according to Morgan was estimated 169 people. Moreover, they were selected using

random sampling. In order to data collecting from the researcher made questionnaires with 48 five index option that

its reliability is calculated via Cronbach's alpha and it is 0.83. The results showed that all factors have been

considered in this study Influence on the development of tourism in the province.



The Relation between Unemployment Rate and Economic Growth in USA

Iulia Roșoiu

The Bucharest University of Economic Studies, Faculty of Finance, Insurance, Banks and Stock

Exchanges, Romania

[email protected]

Andreea Roșoiu


Exchanges, Romania

[email protected]

Key words: economic growth, Okun's Law, regression analysis, unemployment rate, United States of America.

JEL classification: E23, E24, O51.

The relation between unemployment rate and gross domestic product for the economy of United States of

America is important to be analyzed, especially in the context of the current financial crisis. The relation between

these two variables is known in the economic literature as Okun's Law. According to this law, during recession

periods, the unemployment rate has a stronger reaction to a certain variation in gross domestic product evolution.

On the other hand, the unemployment rate keeps its value around a natural level during economic upswings

periods. The results obtained from the regression between unemployment rate and economic growth over the period

1977-2011 show that these variables respect the relation described by Okun's Law. Moreover, the evolution of the

unemployment rate is also influenced by other factors which are not included in the analysis.



Monetary Policy Transmission Mechanism in Romania - a Bayesian VAR Approach

Andreea Roșoiu


Exchanges, Romania

[email protected]

Iulia Roșoiu


Exchanges, Romania

[email protected]

Key words: Bayesian VAR approach, Gibbs Sampler, monetary policy, Monte Carlo integration, Romania.

JEL classification: E52, C11, C82.

The transmission of monetary policy to the economy is a subject of major importance for central banks and

without a good knowledge of it, central banks cannot achieve the goal of high and sustainable economic growth in

the long run. For this reason, an analysis of the monetary policy transmission mechanism in Romania is undergone,

by using Bayesian VAR approach with multiple types of priors, over the period 1998Q1-2012Q3. Based on the

priors used, both analytical and Gibbs sampler results are obtained. The shape of the impulse responses functions

vary depending on the type of prior being used and even though the response to shocks is not high, they do not

exhibit puzzles and reflect the high volatility given by the current economic crisis.



Market Research and Marketing Information Systems

Drago Cvijanovic

Institute of Agricultural Economics Belgrade, 11060 Belgrade, Volgina 15 street, Serbia

[email protected]

Branko Mihailovic

Institute of Agricultural Economics Belgrade, 11060 Belgrade, Volgina 15 street, Serbia

[email protected]

Aleksandra Nikolic

University Business Academy Novi Sad, Cvećarska 2, 21000 Novi Sad, Serbia

[email protected]

Key words: market research, marketing information systems, consumers, marketing ethics.

JEL classification: M 31.

In modern business terms almost all management decisions base on adequate and timely market

information, which provides exactly the market research. The information which assures the market researches help

the management-decision-makers to adjust to the market risks and to realize optimal business results

simultaneously. In the market economy, the enterprise cannot act ignorantly toward the market research results.

What makes the market research necessary is a fact that the risk cannot be ever completely eliminated from the

market economy system, but providing the adequate information, the risk in business decision-making becomes

less, and in certain cases even eliminates. One of the most efficient ways of the risk reduction is exactly the market

research, because the most of the risk comes out from the conditions changes on the market. The market research

product is the information, necessary for making the optimal decisions regarding a tactics and a strategy. The

market research projects should serve as an analytical-documentation and analytical-projection material for

evaluation of some business venture's market propulsion. Consequentially, the primary goals of the market research

are: condition analysis of supply and demand on domestic market, determination of consumption assortment

structure, over viewing the foreign trade exchange courses, identification of consumers’ basic segments,

determination of used distribution channels, determination of sales possibilities. In such conditions, the emphasis is

on information technology, which changes faster and faster a way in which the firms recognize a significance of the

market information systems. New business models represent challenges and new opportunities, because the

organizations, in search for the competitive advantage, tend to adopt the „electronic trade―methodology. This

pressure is also strong in the marketing sector, where the information technology comes in contact with a consumer

and is becoming a key for making greater consumer value.



The Positioning Analysis of Premium Food Brands in the Romanian Market

Ghassan Shakhshir

University of Babeș-Bolyai

[email protected]

Key words: positioning, premium, food products, Romania, canned food.


This study presents a literature review supported by a recent empirical research on the positioning of

premium food products in the Romanian market, how these brands are seen by Romanian consumers, what is the

effect of the economic crisis on the consumers' positioning perceptions and the trends of retailers in developing

premium private labels. Romania is now at the beginning of its opening towards the external markets compared to

the other western countries, whether in the European Union or North America. Therefore the consumer has only

recently come in contact with different types of brands for the same product situated on different positioning levels.

The article aims to track the positioning perception developments towards premium food brands. In order to reach

this aim I will start my study by analyzing the literary support on premium food products around the world and

comparing it with the trends in Europe and finally with the Romanian perspective. I then continue by examining

the declaration and communication strategy of premium food brands in the Romanian market and lastly analyze the

development of premium private labels on the local scale. The main results will show that, following the economic

crisis, consumers tend to buy brands situated on a stable positioning level, but are constantly looking for

promotions for premium brands. Another result is the promotion and the orientation towards premium retailer

private labels.



Competitive and Anti-Competitive Behavior of Organizations from a Marketing

Perspective

Anca Francisca Cruceru


[email protected]

Daniel Moise


[email protected]

Key words: competitive and anti-competitive behavior, competitive rivalry, marketing capabilities, marketing

strategy.


Managers of organizations have always sought the best decisions to achieve positive results in their

activity. From a marketing perspective, the adoption of managerial decisions requires careful analysis of the target

market to discover and capitalize on opportunities, and knowledge of direct competitors that operate within that

field of activity. Directly or indirectly, consciously or unconsciously, organizations develop competitive behavior

caused by the use of a range of methods, techniques and marketing strategies. It is desirable that this market-

oriented behavior be adopted consciously focused on achieving performance targets and aiming at finally getting a

competitive position on the relevant market. Through the implementation of marketing strategies can be achieved

marketing objectives of the organization. But at the same time, increasing competition causes a strong competitive

rivalry between these organizations and as a result, some of them will resort to anti-competitive behavior from a

desire to gain market supremacy. These anti-competitive behavior seriously affects the competitive environment

and consumers. This article, based on the literature in the field, shows the types of competitive and anti-competitive

behavior and proposes a set of recommendations for the implementation of marketing strategies which will position

the organization among the best performing competitors on the market.



The Implications of User-Generated Content Websites for Tourism Marketing

Irina Albăstroiu

The Bucharest University of Economic Studies

[email protected]

Mihai Felea

The Bucharest University of Economic Studies

[email protected]

Key words: user-generated content (UGC), web 2.0, social media, tourism marketing, travel planning.

JEL classification: L83, M31.

User-generated content (UGC) is the basis for information sharing and collaboration over the Internet and

these Web 2.0 tools have changed the ways that travelers search for, view and evaluate travel information. In

marketing terms, UGC sites are effectively a form of ―consumer to consumer marketing‖. Consumer trust is a

critical factor in marketing and for this reason, leveraging the thoughts, words, and images of real human being,

with their permission, through user-generated content websites, can make brand, even tourism brand and

destination, trustworthy. In this context, our paper focuses on the implications of travelers’ use of these websites for

the marketing of tourism services and destinations. First of all, a literature review was performed to illustrate the

impact of UGC travel-related websites for tourism marketing. Then, a quantitative study was conducted for

exploring consumers’ views on UGC in relation to travel planning. The aim of this web-based survey was to

investigate how UGC websites are being used by Romanian young people and the impact that these websites are

having on the information search and travel behavior of the Romanian tourists. In the end, our paper explains the

impact of user-generated content on the travel decision-making behavior of the Romanian travelers, provides

recommendations on how the travel and tourism industry from Romania may respond to the UGC phenomena to

effectively meet the needs of the tourists and proposes ways in wich UGC features can be integrated into Romanian

travel websites for promoting our country as a tourism destination.



Marketing and Innovation: The Inventor’s Point of View

Lucian-Florin Onișor


[email protected]

Doina Drăniceanu

Chief department Romanian Court of Accounts

[email protected]

Key words: business, development, innovation, inventors, marketing.

JEL classification: M31, O31, D83.

This paper discusses, interms of marketing, the entire process of bringing new discoveries to market,

identifying the problems is facing an inventor today. The aim is to identifyhow to improve the methods for

introduction of innovative products on themarket, without disfavoring none of the parties involved: inventors,

certification bodies, manufacturers, distributors and consumers. The objectiveis to investigate the problems of the

moment inventors are facing. Increasingthe speed of information exchange leads to shortening waiting times,

studiesthat are more recent draw attention to the need of changing the way business arenowadays being done.

Qualitative research method through in-depth interviewswas chosen to understand specific problems facing

inventors from a wide area ofactivity. Interpretation of in-depth interviews conducted with inventors,

representativesof patent offices and engineering academic researchers, is carried out based oncontent analysis. The

results radiographs current issues that appear in thesequence of steps to be followed after the appearance of the

idea, itsrealization in practice, certification, production and commercialization, dueto intensification of information

exchange and the exponential growth of thenumber of original inventions. On the basis of these results it can be

optimizedthe entire process of bringing innovations to market by removing identified obstaclesand designing of

new methods for elevating the level ofsocio-economic-political of the entire human society. The benefit of the

workis given by the advanced marketing vision approach of the process since itsorigin, i.e. from the emergence of

the idea and not the application of specificmethods of marketing only in the final phase of the commercialization

ofproducts. The link between marketing and innovation is thus treated as thebasis from which begins the

development of any new product.



ITC Analysts & Analyst Relations

Marco Pister

Faculty of Economics and Management – Slovak University of Agriculture in Nitra

[email protected]

Key words: ITC Analysts, Analyst Relations, IT, Analysts, B2B, Business-to-Business.


If you read Management or IT-Magazines, from time to time you come across analysts like Gartner,

Forrester, AMR, IDC and many others. Such analysts publish comparative studies of providers (Gartner Magic

Quadrant, Forester Wave, …) or analysis of special IT or telecommunication topics on a regular basis. At least

once a year analysts publish also the latest ITC (ITC = IT & Telecommunication) or business trends like the

Gartner with the ―Hype Cycle‖. Maybe not every topic will become a hype like forecasted, but analysts have a

decisive influence of the press. Analysts are seen as a neutral instance and therefore more and more enterprises

which are due to make a purchasing decision for complex or business crucial TIC topic´s, use analyst as a

consultant to make the right decision and to minimize the risk for the organization. During such a decision making

process analysts bring the buy side and the sell side together. Technology providers receive direct feedback and

have the chance to improve or extends there products. The relationship to analysts can be an advantage for

technology providers by receiving the direct briefings, market trends, competitive information and much more.

Such information are important for the strategy process. However the technology providers need to understand that

they need to invest into such relationship with analysts.



The Case for Small Business to Small Business (SB2SB) Consulting in Romania: An

Innovative Approach to Assisting Emerging Businesses

Vanessa L. Christie

Prevailance, Inc.

[email protected]

Lawrence R. Slade

Prevailance, Inc.

[email protected]

Tiffany S. Ho

Yale University

[email protected]

Key words: small business, emerging, consulting.


The aim of this Paper is to analyze the potential role of small business to small business consulting in

Romania’s emerging market. Evidence suggests that the emerging marketplace is expanding as the number and

variety of start-up companies grows. These companies face growing challenges, including lack of business acumen

and a highly competitive global marketplace, and would benefit from cost-effective and focused consulting

services; small business consulting firms are best suited to operate on this scale. The context of this paper,

therefore, is the postulation of an innovative change in business consulting services whereby small companies

provide expert consulting services to small companies. The main methods of this investigation include an extensive

literature review and original evidence. Specifically, this paper will: 1. Describe the market landscape in

Romania vis-à-vis small and emerging businesses. 2. Assess the potential of SB2SB consulting services in

Romania using Porter’s 5-Forces model. 3. Identify key aspects of the SB2SB relationship with lessons

learned from Prevailance, Inc.



Factors of Food Security and Consumer-Based Brand Equity: Charoen Pokphand

Foods PCL (C.P. Foods), Thailand

Michael Welch

Assumption University, Bangkok, Thailand

[email protected]

Key words: Food Security, Brand Equity, Marketing.

JEL classification: Q18, M30, M31.

The focal point of this study was to find the relationships between the factors of food security, the

dimensions of brand equity and the creation of consumer-based brand equity relating to individual consumers of CP

Foods products in Bangkok, Thailand. Methodology/Approach - The study sampled 345 respondents, 80 in each of

the five most populated districts of Bangkok at the largest Tesco Lotus shopping centers, by using a 5-point Likert

Scale questionnaire. Findings - The results of the study showed that the four factors of food security are correlated

with, and have statistically significant relationships with the dimensions of brand equity. The findings further

concluded that brand loyalty was the most influential dimension of brand equity in this study, and that the

dimension of perceived quality was statistically insignificant. Practical Implications - This research proved the

existence of relationships between the factors of food security and the dimensions of brand equity. The importance

of operating as a 'good neighbor,' and the need to operate from both a corporate and social perspective, suggests

food industry firms should analyze the most efficient ways of employing the factors of food security when

positioning their products towards consumers to help establish the requisite foundations for long term success.

Originality / Value - This study contributes evidence to suggest that as the global population rises and resources

become more limited, the topic of food security will rise in importance and corporations in the food industry

wishing to remain competitive will benefit from internally examining and addressing their strategic food security

plans. The study also deepens literature on brand equity by identifying additional external factors that contribute as

influential sources to each of its dimensions.

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