POPULATION ACCESSIBILITY TO RAIL SERVICES. INSIGHTS THROUGH THE LENS OF TERRITORIAL COHESION

Daniela- Luminița CONSTANTIN

Professor at the Department of Administration and Public Management, The Bucharest University of Economic Studies; Bucharest; Romania

danielaconstantin_2005@yahoo.com

Corina- Cristiana NASTACĂ

Teaching Assistant at the Department of Administration and Public Management, The Bucharest University of Economic Studies; Bucharest; Romania

cnastaca@gmail.com

Emilia GEAMBASU

MSc – Administration and Public Management,Faculty of Administration and Public Management, The Bucharest University of Economic Studies; Bucharest; Romania

geambasuemilia@gmail.com

Abstract

Territorial cohesion is a concept that has played an important role in the European authorities’ agenda since the 1990s, being linked to some of the main objectives defined in various EU Treaties (i.e. those envisaging flows, connectivity, spatial nodes, etc.). In this respect, the present research aims to explore territorial cohesion in relation to accessibility so as to provide a comprehensive picture of this subject, employing for the empirical study the Romanian railway system. The main objective is to examine how the Romanian railway infrastructure influences territorial cohesion through regions’ accessibility to infrastructure and rail transport services. The research methodology consists of an exploratory study conducted using secondary data analysis. The collected data have been used to compute a set of indicators (the Engel ratio, the Goltz ratio, and the Hansen accessibility coefficient) that allows the analysis of the degree of population accessibility to railway transport, based on the characteristics of the rail transport service (distance, duration, and cost of travel). The study has revealed that the Romanian railway infrastructure does not have a positive contribution to reducing disparities and strengthening territorial cohesion. Although it is sufficiently extensive, it has uneven growth and low accessibility due to low travel speeds and long travel times. Regarding accessibility, the presence of at least two types of disparities – inter- and intra-regional, has been revealed, due to the fact that disparities in accessibility firstly manifest at the regional level and increase in intensity at the county level.

Keywords: territorial cohesion, population accessibility, railway network, inter- and intra-regional disparities, Romania

JEL classification: R1, R4, R42

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ENVIRONMENTAL COOPERATION AS A WAY OF DEVELOPING ECO-TOURISM IN THE ARCTIC REGION

Raisa M. IVANOVA

Associate Professor at the Department of Tourism and Hospitality, Bunin Yelets State University, Yelets, Russian Federation

ivanova5438@ubogazici.in

Olga V. SKROBOTOVA

Head of Department of Tourism and Hospitality, Bunin Yelets State University, Yelets, Russian Federation

skrobotova5438@murdoch.in

Nadezhda K. MARTYNENKO

Professor at the Department of Economics and Socio-Humanities, M.K. Ammosov North-Eastern Federal University, Yakutsk, Russian Federation

mar-vol@tanu.pro

Olga S. TAMER

Professor at the Department of Applied Mathematics and Natural Science Disciplines, Tyumen Industrial University, Tyumen, Russian Federation

tamer.o@nuos.pro

Anatoly V. KOZLOV

Professor at the Department of Transport, Oil and Gas Technology, Tyumen Industrial University, Tyumen, Russian Federation

an-kozlov@uohk.com.cn

Abstract

Tourism as a means of diversifying economic development can only be considered in those regions that have enough tourism potential. The application of tourism management methods in the region requires factoring in the specifics of the region itself and the possibility of increasing the number of inbound tourists. The relevance of the study is determined by the fact that the number of regions that can offer a competitive product is quite small and tourism is often their main income category. The novelty of the study is that the Arctic region is subsidized and often the region’s economy is focused only on the extraction and processing of minerals. Attraction of tourists is limited due to climatic and infrastructural conditions. As a novelty of the study, the question of how to build infrastructure and provide a management model in the Arctic region is considered, provided that the model meets the standards of public administration. The practical application of the research results can be achieved on the condition that each of the participants in the public administration process can implement a regional development program at the level of the Arctic regions. The main task will be considered the process of formation of a competitive environmental and managerial environment upon financing with self-supporting forms.

Keywords: conditions for the development of tourism, the construction of tourist facilities, entrepreneurial activity in tourism activity, tourist demand, study programs at universities.

JEL classification: Q57, R11, Z32

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IMPACT OF SERVICE AND E-SERVICE QUALITY, PRICE AND IMAGE ON THE TRUST AND LOYALTY OF THE ELECTRONIC BANKING CUSTOMERS

Ilirjana ZYBERI

Doctor,  Faculty of Economy, University “Eqrem Çabej”,Gjirokastra, Albania

izyberi@yahoo.com

Antoneta POLO

Doctor,Docent,  Faculty of Economy, University “Eqrem Çabej”,Gjirokastra, Albania

neta_polo@yahoo.com

Abstract

In the era of globalization and increasing competition worldwide, banks are changing their strategies in order to reach customers around the world easier and cheaper. Banks have adopted modern technology to reduce costs and improve the quality of customer service as well as provide standardization of basic services. Albania has been a positive trend in the use of e-banking and the Internet as a new alternative for providing banking products and services. The purpose of this study is to measure the impact of service quality, quality of e-service, price factors and image have on the trust and loyalty of customers to banks and present some conclusions in order to improve the e-banking situation in Albania. The study is based on primary data collected from the administration of 400 questionnaires in three districts of Gjirokastra region. Data were analyzed using classical econometric models (linear multifactorial regression). From the multivariate analysis, used to see the relationship between trust and service quality, e-service quality, price and image, it resulted that e-service quality, image and price are important factors influencing customer trust, while quality of service does not appear to be statistically significant. All four of the above factors were taken into account to see their relationship with loyalty to banks. Multivariate analysis showed that all four factors are statistically significant in their impact on loyalty. These findings constitute a valuable contribution to the financial institutions, financial advisors, bank customers and prospective applicants.

Keywords: trust, loyalty, image, service quality, quality of e-services

JEL classification: E5

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