Search results for "International management"

Co-evolutionary coupling leads a way to a novel concept of R&D - Lessons from digitalized bioeconomy

2020

Given the increasing role of research and development (R&D) in competitive markets in the digital economy while confronting the dilemma between R&D expansion and a productivity decline, transformation of the R&D model has become a crucial subject for global digital leaders. The authors of this paper postulate that neo open innovation harnessing the vigor of external innovation resources which then developed into a new concept of R&D that self-transforms during an R&D process initiated by Amazon by coupling with users. The authors further develop these postulates by proposing the embedding of a growth characteristic identical to biological coupling. An empirical analysis focusing on the fore…

Harnessing soft innovation resources leads to neo open innovation

2019

Advancement of the digital economy has transformed the concept of the growth crossover in nations and firms, both concerning input and output. Advanced economies have been confronting a dilemma between input increases and output decreases. Contrary to traditional expectations, excessive increase in input has resulted in a productivity decline in output. A solution to this dilemma can only be expected by harnessing the vigor of soft innovation resources that lead to neo open innovation in the digital economy. This paper attempts to demonstrate this hypothetical view. Based on an empirical analysis of the development trajectories of 140 countries and 500 global ICT firms, dynamism, resulting …

Introduction to Reforming water tariffs: Experiences and reforms

2015

Changes in the total costs of the English and Welsh water and sewerage industry: The decomposed effect of price and quantity inputs on efficiency

2020

Abstract Understanding what drives changes in regulated water companies' costs is of great relevance to water regulators. This study decomposes and estimates the change in total costs for a sample of ten water and sewerage companies in England and Wales from 1993 to 2016. The results demonstrate that companies' total costs increased over time due to increases in input prices and input quantity. Any gains obtained from the efficient allocation of resources and technical progress were lost due to mergers and technical inefficiency. Finally, we link our results with the regulatory cycle to evaluate the impact of the regulatory regime on companies' costs and discuss some policy implications.

The futures of offshoring FDI in high-tech sectors

2010

This paper examines what is still a relatively new phenomenon in the literature, the outsourcing/offshoring of high-technology manufacturing and services. This has become a concern for both policy makers and academics for two reasons. Firstly, policy makers have become concerned that the offshoring of high-technology sectors in the West will follow the more labour intensive sectors, and move to lower cost locations. Secondly, international business theory has tended to view low costs, and high levels of indigenous technological development as being the two main drivers of location advantage in the attraction of FDI. We show that this may not be the case for offshored high-technology manufac…

An analysis of the price escalation of non-linear water tariffs for domestic uses in Spain

2015

Abstract Efficient and sustainable water resource use and management is becoming increasingly important, especially in regions under water stress. The use of increasing block pricing involving an escalation or progressivity of unit prices in tariff systems is an economic instrument that contributes to achieving this objective. More progressive tariffs are expected to contribute to a better allocation of resources and avoid their wastage. This article analyses the determinants of the price escalation of water supply tariffs in Spain, a country subject to a high water stress throughout most of its territory. The main objective is to discern whether differences in the degree of progressivity i…

Is more competition better? Retail electricity prices and switching rates in the European Union.

2022

The European Union (EU) promotes the liberalization of retail electricity markets to achieve lower prices, diversified offers, greater customer participation, and sustainable consumption behaviours. While retail competition has been a reality in most EU member states, most studies find that retail competition is suitable for large customers, but the evidence on small customers is inconclusive. We analyze data on electricity prices and switching rates in 27 EU member states and the UK from 2000 to 2019. We find that retail competition is associated with lower prices and that the effect of full liberalization is greater than that of partial liberalization.

Alien at home: Adjustment strategies of students returning from a six-months over-sea's educational programme

2015

Abstract This paper assesses German students’ adjustment strategies after a six months expeditionary learning programme on high seas with intercultural encounters in Cuba and Costa Rica. A postal survey (N = 128, global response quote rg = .44) has been conducted with students having returned from four separate learning expeditions from 2008 to 2012. The students reports were coded in five categories, i.e. (1) reintegration narratives (RN), (2) perception of schooling (PoS), (3) self-perception (SP), (4) perceived programme effects (PPE), and (5) social context (SC), which were also quantified on a 5-point Likert-scale. By means of principal components analyses (PCA) and polynominal interpo…

High-skilled immigrants in times of crisis. A cross-European analysis

2014

Abstract In times of economic turmoil, do high-skilled immigrants (HSIMs) tremble, or are they better suited than non-immigrants or low-skill immigrants to cope with such instability? This paper sheds some light on HSIMs’ social integration during crisis by considering their life satisfaction, ability to get paid work, and civic participation. European Social Survey (ESS) data are used in multilevel models aiming to disentangle the effect of recession in the host economy from that of living through times of crisis. The existing literature does not point in a clear direction, but the use of acculturation perspective, along with the self-selection hypothesis, help to derive clearer expectatio…

Digital participation in service environments among senior electricity consumers in Finland

2018

Research to date suggests that older adults engage with digital technologies less frequently than young adults. Studies typically focus on chronological age, ignoring the effects of life course factors on the adoption and use of digital technologies. By utilising multiple triangulation, the article investigates the role of age and life course stage in the usage of an electricity company's online services among senior consumers. The data are derived from an internet-based survey study (N = 1366) and six focus group discussions involving Finnish electricity consumers (N = 29). The results suggest that online consumers aged 50 and over utilise electricity company online services more frequentl…