Felix Arion

University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine of Cluj-Napoca | USAMV Cluj · Department of Economics

Microfinance institutions (MFIs) play a vital role in extending financial services to marginalized and underprivileged populations worldwide. While the focus of MFIs has traditionally been on providing financial products, recent research highlights the importance of intangible factors in shaping their success and sustainability. This research exami...

Recent global events, notably the COVID-19 pandemic, and the conflict between Russia and Ukraine leaded to unprecedented challenges for companies worldwide. This study examines the impact of the Russia-Ukraine conflict on small companies in agriculture, animal breeding, and the services sector in Romania. A survey was conducted among 110 beneficiar...

The European Union introduced Regulation No. 1151/2012 to delineate the optional quality term "mountain product," aiming to preserve and promote the originality and authenticity of mountain foodstuffs. This research endeavors to delve into the comprehension and perception of the mountain label, considering awareness of the label and willingness to...

Mountain products have been introduced in the EU supplemented with governing regulations to mainstream the products originating from mountain areas with adequate market facilities and use as a differentiating tool compared with conventional products. Since its formalisation and adoption of relevant laws in the national context in Romania, the adopt...

The recent pandemic, as well as sustainability issues have led to changing trends when it comes food purchasing and consumption. Thus, more and more consumers tend to pay more attention to how the food is produced, processed, handled and marketed. Over the past few years, the organic food market has experienced a notable surge in popularity. This s...

Digital technologies have penetrated all spheres of human life, becoming an integral element of sustainable development, and rural areas and agriculture are no exception. However, the processes of digital transformation possess certain challenges. Among them are ICT penetration, digital literacy of society, and the digital divide. This article aims...

The transition towards the circular economy (CE) is one of the major priorities of the European Union (EU). By observing its benefits through the prism of sustainable development, this study aims to reveal the intricate relationships between the CE and the economy–society–environment nexus across 27 EU countries during the period from 2012 to 2020....

This article uncovers relationships between the wine export and production in Armenia. Wine industry is a strategically important economic sector in Armenian. The importance of its development is strongly supported by the fact that alcoholic beverages from grape processing are products with high customs value exported from Armenia (in 2020 the shar...

This study aimed at identifying the factors influencing tourists’ decisions in choosing their vacation destinations as well as factors influencing their behavior. An online survey was applied to 861 Romanian tourists. The principal component analysis was run to reduce the dimensionality of the 23 items and used to determine the factors that influen...

The entrepreneurial behavior of individuals is a result of a complex assembly of factors, and education is one of them. The article is aiming to address the scientific gap in the relation between education and the intention and attitudes in entrepreneurship by focusing on the analysis of the economic and entrepreneurial background as a determinant...

The existing literature related to the cluster concept has been based on solid research from A. Marshall's theory of industrial districts to M. Porter's cluster concept, with location being the main factor on which the two built their premises. Considering that the cluster model has evolved over time, this paper aims to study the dynamism of this m...

Initially, clusters focused on creating a framework for cooperation between economic actors, research institutes, and public authorities from the same geographical concentration. Considering the European cluster model as a way of developing solid cooperation, the same steps were presented to find the interest of South African's economic actors in d...

A multifaceted and flexible partnership established to support the growth of the agro-industrial sector has produced the Value Chain of AgroTransilvania Cluster. Its goal is to aid in the growth of the association's and each member's competitiveness on both domestic and foreign markets. The aim of the article is to propose and set up an adequate st...

Estimating the efficiency of the investments that generate public benefits is not an easy task, as there are various methods proposed for evaluating the value of public goods and services. The novelty of the study consists of the proposed cost–benefit methodology adapted to a real-value cost concept for estimating the efficiency of the investment i...

The terms rural tourism and agritourism can be considered synonymous, but there are differences even though they share certain identifying elements. Agritourism appeared as a solution to increase the income of rural households, by capitalizing on their economic potential, however the main activity remained agriculture. The main purpose of this rese...

Geographical indications (GI) are designated by a member’s region or regions within a designated area when the particular quality, reputation, or other characteristics of a product are related solely to its geographical origin and manufacturing process. Manufacturing methods are carried out according to an established Code of Good Practices. The ai...

Organic products have grown ever more popular in recent years due to increased concerns regarding one’s health, the environment, and sustainability. The COVID-19 pandemic has only accelerated this growth, prompting producers to adapt to a rapidly growing market while maintaining the same standard of quality. We have conducted a questionnaire-based...

Food consumption behavior during the COVID-19 pandemic has changed worldwide as a consequence of the restrictions imposed by law and/or due to the fear of contamination. Although some similarities are found among countries, there are still many particularities for each nation. The present study focused on Romanian consumers and their consumption be...

The COVID-19 pandemic affected consumers’ behavior worldwide. This paper aims to analyze consumers’ sustainable food behavior during the COVID-19 pandemic. The research was based on an online survey during May–October 2020 among 859 Romanian consumers. Principal component analysis and cluster analysis were employed to group the consumers based on t...

Considering the huge economic and social disparities between urban and rural areas of Romania, it is important to investigate the local community perception on the perceived impact of the rural development strategies, provided complex research to evaluate the degree of satisfaction and wellbeing of the rural communities from Cluj County, following...

Development of tourism affected the socio-cultural environment of many destinations. Previous studies have focused more on analyzing the impact of tourism on all three dimensions of sustainable development (economic, environment and socio-cultural); therefore, the present paper examines tourism development’s impact with regard to the socio-cultural...

Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) proposes environmental policies developed around action-based conservation measures supported by agri-environment schemes (AES). High Nature Value (HNV) farming represents a combination of low-intensity and mosaic practices mostly developed in agricultural marginalized rural areas which sustain rich biodiversity. Be...

The purpose of this paper was to compare the investment amounts and efficiency of productive input between Polish and Romanian dairy farms depending on whether they access funds under the second pillar of EU’s CAP. The study covered the particularities of farms who access investment funds under the 2nd pillar of EU’s CAP, which allowed to identify...

In the context of a spectacular growth of the Romanian restaurant market, it has become a necessity for managers to analyze the decision-making process related to restaurant selection toward obtaining a competitive advantage, which can be achieved through better segmentation and adequate targeting. The main objectives involved the identification of...

Tourism represents a viable alternative for economic activities in rural areas, and improves the living standards of the communities. The aim of the paper is to assess residents’ perceptions towards tourism destination quality in the North-West Development Region of Romania using the following items: natural attractions: cultural and social attract...

Organic farming has become an important alternative to conventional farming, mostly because of environmental sustainability issues, and has long-term positive benefits over soil, water, air and climate change, biodiversity, prohibiting the use of genetically modified organisms, and encouraging the development of ecological services. In Romania, the...

In the favorable context of a potential increase in the use of renewable energy sources in Romania, a research was conducted among the rural population in the North-West region of development in order to analyze public perception regarding this alternative energy production. A survey was conducted on a sample of 322 respondents and data was analyze...

Over the last years, tourism has undergone significant development worldwide, especially in developing countries. Tourism is a multi-faced activity with positive and negative impacts on the destinations, linking the economic, social, and environmental components of sustainable development. The attitude of the host community is an important factor f...

During the last years many scholars analyzed the development of entrepreneurial education and the factors that affect the entrepreneurial decisions. This paper analysis the entrepreneurial motivation of the students from three engineering undergraduate programs from University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine from Cluj-Napoca. The r...

Organic food consumption has increased during the last years as a consequence of its direct impact on consumer health, life style, and social convenience as well as on the environment and sustainable development. Compared to the European level, the consumption of organic food products is quite low in Romania. This paper investigates the perception...

The research refers on the production results obtained on corn crops (Turda STAR Variety) and wheat crops (Dumbrava variety) (cultivated following corn crops) conducted on an argyle chernozem soil in Cluj County, Romania. The study exhibits the differentiated fertilization systems (the effect of the nitrogen-phosphorous interaction) involved in obt...

Although the potential of tourism to increase off-farm incomes and develop rural areas is often noted, impediments to rural entrepreneurship still exist. This study used a quantitative survey to examine the factors—both motivating and discouraging—that influence rural residents’ decisions to start touristic business in the North-West region of Roma...

Fruits and vegetables are an important element for a healthy diet, but because of seasonality, they are often consumed processed. The aim of the study is to determine the consumers' preferences toward canned fruits and vegetables. A research was conducted among the population from Cluj-Napoca. The major objectives of the research were to determine...

Service quality being directly linked to customer satisfaction, measuring it becomes mandatory for a obtaining proper information with regards of customer's expectations. Therefore, the article's aim is to estimate the quality of a service company from the consultancy area. A research was conducted among the clients of a consultancy company, using...

The promotion during the last decades of the concept of sustainable agriculture attracted the application of principles that lead to agriculture technologies which are both technically and economically productive, providing effective solutions for protecting the environment and the consumers. They also insure the productivity of the factors involve...

Tourism is a multi-faced activity that links the economic, social and environmental components of sustainability. This research analyzes rural residents' perceptions of the impact of tourism development and examines the factors that influence the support for sustainable tourism development in the region of Nord-Vest in Romania. Residents' perceptio...

A strong marketing orientation within organizations is considered able to create a competitive edge and having a positive impact on the company's performance. Its' necessity is obvious especially in the last decades when companies face mature markets and the key for surviving consists in approaching a marketing – oriented strategy, by keeping a str...

The tree-growing sector is considered to be an important supplier of food and raw material for industry worldwide. Increasingly competitive decisions regarding international investment in orchards depend on business analysis. This study compares three apple orchards situated in Cluj-Napoca, on the Eastern limits of the Transylvanian Plain, Romania....

Water availability has become a problem in many countries of the world. Water scarcity can be economic or physical. Agricultural water use accounts for about three quarters of total global consumption; in many developing countries, irrigation represents over 90% of the water used. The purpose of this paper is to explore the willingness to pay for i...

The tree-growing sector is considered to be an important supplier of food and raw material for industry worldwide. Increasingly competitive decisions regarding international investment in orchards depend on business analysis. This study compares three apple orchards situated in Cluj-Napoca, on the Eastern limits of the Transylvanian Plain, Romania....

The research is based on the production results obtained on wheat crops cultivated following corn, conducted on an argic chernozem soil in the Transylvanian Plain. The goal of this research is to scientifically and agrochemically substantiate the differentiated fertilization systems involved in obtaining big productions in the reference area. In th...

The present research describes the farms' characteristics from Kurdistan Regional Government. To achieve the aim of the paper during June-September 2012, 236 questionnaires were applied to the farmers from Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG). The descriptive statistics and chi-square test were used to analyze the data. The analysis was conducted fo...

The rural area of Kurdistan region has specific characteristics and faces many challenges. The rural space of Kurdistan is affected by poverty, and the farmers are dealing with many problems and they hardly survive. The Kurdistan Region is located SW of Asia and NE of Iraq and is composed of three governorates: Erbil (Hawler), Suleimani, and Duhok,...

Nowadays, the rural area of Kurdistan region is affected by many issues, between that the farmer ethics of using the land and equipment are one of the prominent issues in the region. The aim of this research is to find out the farmer ethics of using land and equipment properly for sustainable development of agriculture. The research area is represe...

The more localized is a food systems and the shorter is the food supply chain, the more ethical is seen by scholars, by authorities, by small producers and by dedicated consumers. The main reason why it is preferred a short food system is that it assures a sustainable development of each of the three pillars: economic, social and environment. The p...

The paper investigates the role of the Common Agriculture Policy support in the economic sustainability of sheep breeding farms from North-Western Romania (Transylvania), focusing particularly on the Agri-Environment Schemes (AES). The region has important High Natural Value (HNV) grassland areas significant for bio-conservation. To analyze their i...

This paper presents the design of an instrument for estimating the quality of tourism services in rural areas. For the purpose of this research the tourism services providers and tourist from Tarnava Mare Area were investigated. Both of the groups were asked to estimate the quality of the accommodation facilities and the quality of the tourist dest...

In order to success in any business an important factor is considered to be the quality of the services delivered to customers. The paper presents the tourists' satisfaction with respect to the services offered by the rural guesthouses. Lodging represents an important part of the holiday. According to the available legislation of Romania there are...

Nowadays the training courses represent a real problem, and more and more people are interested in improving or developing new skills in order to improve their professional status. This article examines the factors that influence the quality of the training courses held by FAER organization. The training courses are addressed to the future entrepre...

In Romania, there is no official definition for the local products and consumers often refer of their benefits thinking of organic products. In many studies, local products are associated with distance, time and farmers markets. In order to build adequate marketing strategies for local products is necessary to study the consumer and his personal mo...

The paper aims to offer a comparative analysis of the production costs between conventional and ecological agriculture (both certified, and on the conversion process) - according to the Council Regulation (EC) No 834/2007 of June 28th, 2007 on organic production and labelling of organic products. To determine the impact of the gross margin for the...

All life relies on an essential substance which is water. Where there is water there is life and where water is scarce, life has to struggle because it has no or very limited alternative. Therefore, the question is: how to deal with that no replacement? Water use is a complex issue and involves many actors from local communities to international bo...

By analyzing the studied socioeconomic , it was observed that the recession and the economic crisis had negative effects, since the investments, both in public and in private sectors were not sufficient to cover all the needs. Also, it can be seen that local authorities had not enough resources and/or they were unable to create a coherent strategy...

A brief description of the Faculty of Horticulture from Cluj-Napoca, Romania (University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine of Cluj-Napoca), with the occassion of celebrating 35 years of horticulture higher education (1977-2012).

This paper presents the results of a research conducted in the Tarnava Mare Region by setting up an original tool based on QUALITEST and SERVQUAL methods, having as main objective to determine the quality of the region as a tourist destination. The working method used was a social survey based on questionnaire. Research carried out revealed that to...

In the last decades, an increased interest has been expressed by researchers from worldwide towards studies about economic valuation of protected areas given that environmental public goods are not always traded on a market. Economists have struggled with this subject for decades and have developed several methods to estimate the economic values of...

The activities run in the present research were able to inform the target group and the general public on the objectives of training, which encourage sustainable development by promoting entrepreneurial culture among small businesses, their employees and potential entrepreneurs, including young people who want to start a business in urban areas, in...

The subject of the research is represented by a practical survey to identify the target group's opinion on how they perceive economic and social environment, on one hand and to identify the entrepreneurial skills and the most frequent difficulties encountered in starting a business or finding a good job, on the other hand. The conclusions drawn fro...

According to the SWOT analysis regarding the Romanian tourism, published by Business Monitor International in the Romania Tourism Report Q1 2009, the main Romanian Tourism Industry weakness are the: low quality of the accommodation facilities and the poor infrastructure. Taking these into consideration there should be done researches to point out t...

Contemporary evolution of accounting is marked by three phenomenons: normalisation, harmonisation and internationalisation. In present is manifesting more and more the contingencies in the national sphere in accounting in the favour of global alignment in the field, and which has as result creation of the modern system of accounting. The unit marke...

As an active part of extension activity, the process of continuous education could not be limited to what is generically named as formal education (strongly institutionalised, graduated and with a clear chronological hierarchy). It was observed that, in the case of extension, the most valuable information were achieved using the informal education...

This article aims to establish a proper management of the SCADA system implementation. A progressive management is described, along with the benefits a SCADA decision support system can offer in the field of sustainable agriculture development. The basic idea is that we need to apply our knowledge to the fundamental redesign of our technologies in...

Articolul trateaza rolul importanta si cateva din competentele necesare unui bun manager de proiect in cadrul unor proiecte interdisciplinare in domeniul agriculturii sustenabile. Accentul se pune pe managementul diferentelor de personalitate, ca indicator al diversitatii problematicii pe care un bun manager de proiect trebuie sa o stapaneasca. In...

This paper tentatively addresses the question of harnessing individual differences towards improving interdisciplinary research. The authors believe that in interdisciplinary research projects, people need to go beyond the typical approaches that often deal with a superficial level of communication. The concepts of Young Types, Personality Adaptati...

At the moment the opportunities for financing university research projects seems to be more numerous and more generous than ever before. It is, inevitable, rising the question: “How can be get money from them?”. The main problem appears to be the fact that, in many cases, the answer for this question is left to busy university members or executive...

The main topic this paper addresses deals with the role, the importance and needed competencies a good project manager needs, in order to be able to properly manage an interdisciplinary research project for a sustainable agriculture. The paper addresses also the problem of harnessing individual differences towards unleashing creativity in interdisc...

The concept of extension is extremely wide and complex, being developed in national contexts that differ in many characteristics: beneficiaries, objectives, financial resources, and so on. At the moment it is interesting for government to know the extent to which it can give up its power and responsibility without incurring negative effects, knowin...

Work resources represent an essential condition of economical development in each country. Under domination of this constraint, humankind began confronting to serious problems, due to the fact that man's life standard raising brought an alarming lowering of the main indicators of population's dynamics. This way it is emphasizing that regulations re...

The role of entrepreneurship in the development of a more sustainable society has been recently sustained and debated. Using factor analysis, the present research emphasizes three categories of beekeepers from the North West Region of Romania that are inclined towards an entrepreneurial behavior. The current study proposes certain actions that each...