Management

The aim of this paper is to provide an in-depth examination at the development discrepancies and cluster sustainability from the existing textile and apparel clusters point of view. Confronted with increased competitive pressure due to globalization and technological changes, the textile and clothing industry strives to remain one of the major industrial sectors in Europe. The analyzed data set illustrate differences between cluster indicators that characterize the Western EU countries in comparison with those located in the Eastern Europe. Furthermore, there is a correlation between region indicators such as GDP per capita or employment rate and the cluster indicators investigated. Strengthening the competitiveness of innovative clusters and benchmarking the performance of industrial sectors such as technical textiles has a great potential to increase the national economy. The implications of the findings regarding disparities amongst Western and Eastern European regions with reference to textile and clothing clusters are discussed in the concluding section.

The objective of this paper is to show the impact of regulation upon the start up of new businesses in the European Union. The study uses some of the components of the Ease doing business index elaborated by the World Bank. The methods used are the correlation analysis and ordinary least squares for an unbalanced data panel with 26 cross-sections (European Union member states) and time periods from 2005 to 2012. The regression equation is composed of one dependent variable, represented by the New Business Registration Density per 1000 people and 18 independent variables gathered from components of Ease of Doing Index. The results of this research show that the influence of regulatory factors is very strong. This paper is addressed to entrepreneurs, managers of public institution, specialists and all interested readers.

The main objective of this article is to demonstrate the importance of the natural factors on bussiness environment, even for companies that do not have economic activities depending on them. The natural factors are ignored by most business analysis especially in companies whose main activity does not regard exploiting natural resources. But when natural factors are analysed, the so called ecological influences are mistankenly regarded by many specialists as regulations, policies and methods, imposed by government to protect the environment. Instead, we consider that the primary natural factors are: the geographic position, landscape, climate, ecosystem, natural resources and the natural hazard.

The aim of the paper is to analyze the competitiveness of the European textile and clothing industry under the influence of globalization and recent economic crisis. The textile and clothing industry is an important part of the European manufacturing industry, playing a vital role in the economy and social welfare in many regions of Europe. The European textile and clothing industry has undergone significant changes in recent decades due to the technological advances, developments in production costs, the emergence major international competitors and the elimination import quotas after 2005. In response to the competitive challenges, this sector of activity has undertaken a lengthy process of restructuring and modernization. Globalization and technological progress have led to rethinking the strategy of the companies in the industry. In a competitive global market, European organizations producing textiles and garments have as main competitive advantage research and continuous innovation. Using methods of qualitative research, this paper analyses the evolution of the main financial indicators concerning this sector of activity in the period 2007 – 2013, including domestic consumption, turnover, number of employees, number of companies, imports and exports. The globalization of markets, international outsourcing and development of the Internet had a major impact on the structure and dynamics of the textile and clothing industry in Europe, and in particular on small and medium enterprises. Also, relocation, subcontracting and outsourcing of large brands in this domain have contributed significantly to the increase of imports from low-cost countries. A growing number of apparel retailers have emerged on the market, organizing supply chains globally. At the same time, producers have transferred part of their activities to low-cost countries in order to maintain market competitiveness. This was determined by the major differences in salaries across the global labour markets and high profits obtained from trade. Based on the results of the analysis undertaken, the paper suggests that in recent years, the competitiveness of the textile and clothing sector fell significantly, causing restructuring and downsizing.

This paper examines the process of achieving environmental sustainability through recycling of textile wastes. It is
organized as a review and editorial article, relating relevant research regarding sustainable development and recycling
of textile waste, and outlining economic, environmental and social implications and suggested future actions. The
recycling of textile waste can serve as a mean of providing solutions to financial, environmental and social problems
such as high cost of waste disposal, and diminution of natural resources, create workplaces, opening opportunities for
SMEs. The benefits and problems of this exercise are also highlighted. The conclusion drawn is that the recycling of
waste brings benefits to all three aspects that define sustainability: economic, social and environmental, especially in
solving the numerous ecological problems and boosting new economy sectors, but there are also negative aspects too.
To quantify the potential ecological benefits, the economic and social effects of textile waste recycling, the paper
proposes a framework model which makes tradeoff between costs of reverse network for textile waste establishing and
operating, and its effects on the employment increase, and resold wearable textiles earnings. The main limit of the
presented model is the fact that it is based on the premise that there is already a collecting infrastructure and a
market for the recycled products. But, in Romania the textile waste collecting, especially the post-consumer one still
remains an unsolved problem. In the conclusions, the paper presents several proposals whose solutions represent
future research directions.

In the current economy characterized by increased competition, quality represents a fundamental condition for the competitiveness of firms producing goods or providing services at global level. Obtaining competitiveness implies a permanent adaptment of the management procesesses of the organizations to the market conditions and consumer demands and requires the adoption of a systemic quality control concept, which refers not only to the productive activities, but to all their functional departments. The purpose of this article is to discuss the concept of quality from the perspective of business competitiveness and, furthermore, to examine the evolution of ISO certifications for management systems. The ISO 9000 series are standards based on the idea of continual improvement, that establish the requirements for a quality management system, allowing businesses and organizations to improve their process performance, organizational capabilities and customer satisfaction. The permanent improvement and adaptation of this quality standard to the economic turbulences are the subject of this study. Using methods of qualitative research, this paper analyses the evolution of ISO certifications for management systems worldwide emphasizing on ISO 9001. The interest shown by organizations to continuous improvement of quality is due to an external threat generated by real or potential market losses caused by poor quality. Therefore, quality is considered a strategic contribution that can not be neglected in order to achieve competitiveness.