Search results for "Economic system"
showing 10 items of 232 documents
Mitigating forest biodiversity and ecosystem service losses in the era of bio-based economy
2018
Abstract Forests play a crucial role in the transition towards a bioeconomy by providing biomass to substitute for fossil-based materials and energy. However, a policy-policy conflict exists between the desire to increase the utilization of bio based renewable resources and the desire to protect and conserve biodiversity. Increasing forest harvest levels to meet the needs of the bioeconomy may conflict with biodiversity protection and ecosystem services provided by forests. Through an optimization framework, we examined trade-offs between increasing the extraction of timber resources, and the impacts on biodiversity and non-wood ecosystem services, and investigated possibilities to reconcil…
Russia-Ukraine balance of military power
2017
The Russia-Ukraine conflict is the most serious test of European security in the 21st century and the forgone conclusion is that Russia can easily prevail in the conflict, but this has not been the case. This article uses balance of military power analysis to report findings on the plausible outcome of a war between Ukraine and Russia. I report findings based on realist theoretical perspectives that indicate Russian victory is unlikely because of relative balance of power where Russia has to face multiple threats diverting its military power while Ukraine can concentrate its military power for a single purpose. The findings suggest implication for policy in Russia, Ukraine, EU and the Unite…
Coupling News Sentiment with Web Browsing Data Improves Prediction of Intra-Day Price Dynamics
2015
The new digital revolution of big data is deeply changing our capability of understanding society and forecasting the outcome of many social and economic systems. Unfortunately, information can be very heterogeneous in the importance, relevance, and surprise it conveys, affecting severely the predictive power of semantic and statistical methods. Here we show that the aggregation of web users' behavior can be elicited to overcome this problem in a hard to predict complex system, namely the financial market. Specifically, our in-sample analysis shows that the combined use of sentiment analysis of news and browsing activity of users of Yahoo! Finance greatly helps forecasting intra-day and dai…
Social determinants of identity in communities: A social capital- and social categorization-based approach – findings from Latvia
2017
The article investigates the relations, in the light of new paradigms of economic development, between trust and economic wealth at the micro level in the Republic of Latvia, by means of a structural equation modelling-based approach and a framework combining social capital and social identity theory, in a rationale of cross-fertilization between social and cognitive science. Results are also tested against control dimensions reflecting relevant divides in Latvian society (residence place dimensions; ethno-linguistic belongings; educational differences). General results support the hypothesis of the existence of a causal path connecting personal wealth, institutional trust, social engagemen…
Absorptive Capacity and Social Capital: Innovation and Environmental Regulation
2010
Norwegian paper and pulp mills are subject to strict environmental regulation. The mills conduct research and development for reducing pollution. Absorptive capacity indicates their competence. Firms are part of a social network of connections with external actors that include other paper and pulp mills, suppliers, customers, research institutes, and universities that help them in developing technologies. These relations represent their social capital. Some firms have access to more and better resources than other firms. Measuring firms’ absorptive capacity and access to social capital, we analyze their success in reducing pollution levels. There is a strong interaction effect between absor…
Sectoral Business Cycle Synchronization in the European Union
2007
This paper analyses sectoral business cycle synchronization in an enlarged European Union using annual data for the period 1980-2005. In particular, we try to identify which sector for each country is driving the aggregate output business cycle synchronization. Overall, the sectors that provide the most relevant contribution are Industry, Building and Construction, and Agriculture, Fishery and Forestry. In contrast, the Services sector, the largest one in terms of valued added share, shows a relative low business cycle synchronization and volatility, implying that it contributes only marginally to the aggregate output business cycle synchronization.
Adoption and use of work-life initiatives: Looking at the influence of institutional pressures and gender
2015
Under the lens of Institutional Theory, this paper examines how coercive, normative and mimetic pressures on employers encourage the adoption and use of work-life balance. Analyzing a sample of Spanish private firms, we find that the diffusion of work-life practices may be explained as an isomorphic process in which particular normative pressure significantly influences the adoption and use of work-life programs, while mimetic pressures only affect the level of use. Interestingly, the presence of women in organizations is found to be relevant to the adoption and use of work-life benefits only when this presence refers to managerial positions.
Structural and Static Prerequisites for the Internationalization of Small and Medium – Sized Enterprises in the Baltic States
2014
Abstract The pace and extent of internationalization of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) is the result of the interaction of various factors and preconditions. This article examines one of these prerequisites - the currently established structure of SMEs in the Baltic States. The relationship between the different components of SMEs or the SMEs structure is the slowly varying parameters of the functioning of the economy. However, as an integral element of the economic system, the SME structure affects its development, including internationalization of business. Based on statistical data, the opportunities for small firms to outsource business activities as a perspective form of int…
Blockchain Governance : A Dynamic View
2021
The governance of blockchain systems is unique due to its decentralized nature and automatically enforced rules and mechanisms. Moreover, blockchain governance is crucial in achieving success and sustainability. With this study, we aim to advance the theory of blockchain governance and support practitioners by defining blockchain governance from a holistic viewpoint and identifying its building blocks. As a result of a systematic literature review of 75 recent articles focusing on blockchain governance, we propose a dynamic model that deepens the researchers’ and practitioners’ understanding of blockchain governance. The conceptual model can serve as a reference framework and structured fou…
Building a model of corporate social responsibility in the old industrial region(in the case of Upper Silesia): a sociological perspective
2009
PurposeCorporate social responsibility (CSR) is one of the most crucial phenomena of global capitalism at the beginning of the twenty‐first century. For this reason it is emphasized by many companies (especially transnational corporations and multinational companies) and in the European Union and its policy. The main purpose of this paper is to analyze how CSR exists in a transitional country and region – the Upper Silesian Industrial District and the Rybnik Coalmine Area in Southern Poland.Design/methodology/approachA qualitative and quantitative methodology was used to summarize the sociological research among entrepreneurs and businesses located throughout the region.FindingsThis researc…