The Sustainability of Romanian SMEs and Their Involvement in the Circular Economy

Ionica Oncioiu, Sorinel Capusneanu, Mirela Cătălina Türkeș, Dan Ioan Topor, Dana Maria Constantin (Oprea, Martinescu), Andreea Marin-Pantelescu and Mihaela Ștefan Hint
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Ionica Oncioiu: Faculty of Finance-Banking, Accounting and Business Administration, Titu Maiorescu University, Bucharest 040051, Romania
Mirela Cătălina Türkeș: Faculty of Finance, Banking and Accountancy, Dimitrie Cantemir Christian University, Bucharest 040051, Romania
Dan Ioan Topor: Faculty of Economic Sciences, 1 Decembrie 1918 University, Alba-Iulia 510009, Romania
Andreea Marin-Pantelescu: Faculty of Business and Tourism, The Bucharest University of Economic Studies, Bucharest 010374, Romania
Mihaela Ștefan Hint: Faculty of Economic Sciences, 1 Decembrie 1918 University, Alba-Iulia 510009, Romania

Sustainability, 2018, vol. 10, issue 8, 1-19

Abstract: Sustainability involves extending the relational framework of SMEs outside the sphere of economic activity by justifying and legitimizing actions with a social impact on the environment. Links with the circular economy are achieved through the economic and environmental dimensions and through corporate social responsibility as a component of sustainable development. The main purpose of the paper was to determine the level of involvement of Romanian SMEs in activities related to the circular economy. The sample survey conducted among SME managers offered the advantage of collecting a large amount of direct information on the activities undertaken, the size of the investments and the nature of the funding sources used over the last five years. In this descriptive research, the process of setting up a representative sample of 384 enterprises was carried out by random sampling. The major contributions of the research project are to outline the contribution of Romanian SMEs to the development of a sustainable economy through their involvement in specific activities, the size of the investments made, and the level of participation of representatives of the enterprises in courses in order to identify new sources of financing and positive solutions in order to implement the principles of the circular economy.

Keywords: sustainability; circular economy; investments; sources of funding; SME; sustainable economy (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2018
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (21)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:10:y:2018:i:8:p:2761-:d:161985

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