Bulletin of the Transilvania University of Brasov. Series V: Economic Sciences

An Empirical Assessment of Servicescape Quality and its Impact on Passenger Experience in Rail Transport

2025-07-16T07:23:37+00:00

This study evaluates passengers’ expectations and perceptions regarding the physical environment quality of Brașov Railway Station. Using the SERVQUAL model, this study investigates the gap between perceived and expected performance for specific attributes of the physical environment. Additionally, an Importance–Performance Matrix has been employed to identify and prioritize areas requiring improvement. The results show that passengers consider safety, cleanliness, and ergonomic furniture to be critical aspects in need of urgent attention. These findings provide practical insights for enhancing the overall travel experience and the perceived quality of the physical environment in the context of a railway station.

Tourists’ Perception of Food Waste Reduction in Hotels: An Analysis from a Gender Perspective

2025-07-16T07:31:59+00:00

The study analyses the perceptions of Romanian tourists regarding food waste in hotels, highlighting gender differences. Women were found to be more aware of the problem, more receptive to visual messages, and more willing to adopt sustainable behaviours, such as accepting small portions or supporting food donations. Men preferred token rewards, digital apps, and clear hotel policies. Both groups believe that the responsibility is shared between tourists and the hotel. The conclusions suggest the need for differentiated strategies, adapted to the gender profile, to increase the involvement of tourists in reducing food waste in hotel units.

Robotics in the Travel, Tourism, and Hospitality Sector: A Bibliometric Review of Publications from 2014 to 2023

2025-07-16T07:42:28+00:00

This study conducts a bibliometric analysis of research on robotics in the hospitality and tourism industry, focusing on publications from 2014 to 2023. Data from the Scopus database were analysed based on criteria such as document type, language, publication year, and author affiliations. VOSviewer was used to visualize research trends. The analysis of 110 documents shows a steady increase in publications, with China leading in output, followed by the UK and the US. The International Journal of Hospitality Management is the most prolific journal, and the University of Surrey is the top institution. The study highlights key research areas and trends in robotics applications.

Mood and Design Elements

2025-07-16T05:12:25+00:00

The paper presents the results of an experiment aimed at studying the influence of focal colours and geometric shapes on mood. The colours were displayed on plastic boxes, and the shapes were of perfume bottles. The Profile of Mood Scale (POMS) was used to assess mood. It was found that both focal colours and geometric shapes have a general tendency to induce positive mood values. No specific relationships between a certain mood and a certain colour or geometric shape were found. It was only revealed that the brown colour and the cube have a moderate to strong positive influence on all mood states.

The Role of Packaging in Brand Attachment

2025-07-16T05:19:17+00:00

Packaging plays an important role in creating and strengthening brand attachment, significantly impacting consumer perception and brand experience. It influences not only the product's first impression, but also how consumers interact with it in the long term. This article explains how packaging contributes to the brand attachment of a product. The primary research method was bibliometric analysis based on data collection from the Web of Science covering the period 2021-2025 to identify dominant trends and themes in the specialized literature in this field. The analysis was conducted by selecting 1075 relevant articles filtered by the keywords "packaging" and "brand." The results highlighted that interest in this field has remained constant over the past five years.

Decision-Making Processes in Higher Education: A Systematic Literature Review

2025-07-16T05:36:18+00:00

The topic of student decision-making in higher education has gained relevance due to its wide diversity. This research aims to systematize the theoretical references that address the student decision-making process in Higher Education using the PRISMA 2020 methodology. A general model based on push and pull factors was identified, which integrates economic, quality, communication and internationalization factors, as well as the need to conceive the student as a "consumer" by combining the micro-level and personal aspects to personalize the process with appropriate and integrated information, managing deeper relationships. In addition, these results can be used as a reference for decision-making and meeting the needs of students.

Implementing Marketing Innovation Strategies in Tourism: Lessons from Case Studies

2025-07-16T07:00:17+00:00

This study evaluated the effectiveness of innovative tourism marketing strategies implemented between 2014 and 2024 through a systematic review of six empirical studies selected from the Scopus database. The results highlight that the most effective strategies combine digital innovation, cultural authenticity, and local collaboration. Immersive technologies such as virtual tours boosted engagement, especially in urban destinations, while cultural storytelling and collaboration fostered authenticity and diversification in rural contexts. The main constraints were high technological costs, the digital divide, and a lack of coordination between actors. It is concluded that the success of innovative tourism marketing depends on its adaptation to the context, integrating sustainability, experiential value, and appropriate technology.

Life Satisfaction and Public Finance: An Empirical Analysis in the European Union

2025-07-16T07:58:02+00:00

Our study examines the impact of social and macroeconomic indicators on happiness score, using panel data from the “World Happiness Report”. We conducted fixed effects and year-fixed effects regressions, aiming to analyse any potential changes in the way that the considered variables affect the reported life satisfaction. The database consists of panel data for the period 2011-2023, including all the member states from the European Union. Firstly, we considered the original happiness score assigned to each country, then created a dummy variable taking value one for higher happiness scores compared to the average. Our findings suggest that GDP per capita remains statistically significant but has a lower coefficient in the regression with a dummy dependent variable.

Unlocking Growth: The Role of Green Finance, Innovation, and Economic Drivers

2025-07-16T08:05:37+00:00

The research explores the relationship among green finance, innovation, and economic growth in relation to financial development. It utilizes OLS and MMQR methods to assess the impact of green finance, the number of patents, economic growth, gross fixed capital formation, and public expenditure on research and development on the progress of financial development. The results indicate that both patent innovation and economic growth positively influence financial development. However, green finance, government investment in fixed capital, and research and development hinder financial development. The study highlights the importance of institutional quality and emphasizes the need for targeted investment.