The Romanian Economic Journal 

About: The Romanian Economic Journal is an academic journal published by Editura ASE. The journal publishes majorly in the area(s): European union & Granger causality. It has an ISSN identifier of 1454-4296. It is also open access. Over the lifetime, 477 publications have been published receiving 2678 citations. The journal is also known as: Jurnalul economic & R.E.J..

Factors Affecting Bank Profitability in Pakistan

Abstract: The purpose of this research is to examine the relationship between bank-specific and macro-economic characteristics over bank profitability by using data of top fifteen Pakistani commercial banks over the period 2005-2009. This paper uses the pooled Ordinary Least Square (POLS) method to investigate the impact of assets, loans, equity, deposits, economic growth, inflation and market capitalization on major profitability indicators i.e., return on asset (ROA), return on equity (ROE), return on capital employed (ROCE) and net interest margin (NIM) separately. The empirical results have found strong evidence that both internal and external factors have a strong influence on the profitability. The results of the study are of value to both academics and policy makers.

Determinants of Non Performing Loans: Case of US Banking Sector

Abstract: Non Performing Loan Rate is the most important issue for banks to survive. There are lots of factors responsible for this ratio. Some of them belong to firm level issues and some are from macroeconomic measures. However this study is based on the blend. It considers the Real GDP per Capita, Inflation, and Total Loans as independent variables, and Non Performing Loan Ratio as dependent variable. Study uses the data of US banking sector from official web sources of US Federal Reserve System. Years from 1985 to 2010 constitute the study period. Employing correlation and regression tests show that research model used is of good statistical health. All the selected independent variables have significant impact on the depended variable, however, values of coefficients are not much high. Banks should control and amend their credit advancement policy with respect to mentioned variables to have lower non-performing loan ratio.

Customer Experience Management in Retailing

Abstract: Survival of fittest & fastest is the mantra of today’s business game. To compete successfully in this business era, the retailer must focus on the customer’s buying experience. To manage a customer’s experience, retailers should understand what “customer experience” actually means. Customer Experience Management is a strategy that focuses the operations and processes of a business around the needs of the individual customer. It represents a strategy that results in a win–win value exchange between the retailer and its customers. The goal of customer experience management is to move customers from satisfied to loyal and then from loyal to advocate. This paper focuses on the role of macro factors in the retail environment and how they can shape customer experiences and behaviors. Several ways (e.g., Brand, Price, Promotion, Supply Chain Management, Location, Advertising, Packaging & labeling, Service Mix, and Atmosphere) to deliver a superior customer experience are identified which should result in higher customer satisfaction, more frequent shopping visits, larger wallet shares, and higher profits.

Consumer Attitudinal Insights about Social Media Advertising: A South Asian Perspective

Abstract: Current study aims to indentify the underlying belief dimensions that influence consumer attitudes toward social media advertising in a collectivistic cultural context of South Asia. It also examines the influence of consumers’ favorable attitudes toward social media advertising on their ad clicking and online buying behaviors. To meet the objectives of the current study data was collected from randomly chosen university students (n=210) using survey at Islamabad capital city of Pakistan. Results reveal four factors of consumer beliefs about social media advertising. However, only two dimensions i.e. information and economy are statistically significant predictors of consumer attitudes toward social media advertising in Pakistan. Furthermore, results reveal that favorable attitudes toward social media advertising significantly influence consumers’ ad clicking behavior, which in turn positively affects their online buying behavior. Findings of the current study are useful for the multinational companies which intend to advertise their products and services through social media channels (e.g. through FaceBook, LinkedIn etc.) in South Asia. 1

Relationship Between Occupational Stress and Job Satisfaction: An Empirical Study in Malaysia

Abstract: This study was conducted to measure the effect of occupational stress on job satisfaction using 80 usable questionnaires gathered from academic employees in private institutions of higher learning in Kuching City, Malaysia Exploratory factor analysis and confirmatory factor analysis were used to assess the survey questionnaire data and found that the measurement scales met the acceptable standards of validity and reliability analyses Next, a stepwise regression analysis was used to test the research hypotheses and the outcomes of this regression analysis showed two important findings: first, physiological stress significantly correlated with job satisfaction Second, psychological stress insignificantly correlated with job satisfaction This result demonstrates that level of physiological stress has increased job satisfaction, and level of psychological stress had not decreased job satisfaction Further, the study confirms that occupational stress does act as a partial determinant of job satisfaction in the stress models of the organizational sector sample In addition, implications and discussion are elaborated