Search results for "International management"
showing 10 items of 1373 documents
Rethinking the Concept of Sustainability
2011
The role of business ethics in developing more sustainable societies is crucial, but we first have to review the concept of sustainability itself and its ethical roots. The objective of this work is to rethink the current concept of sustainability by providing it with a sound universalistic ethical rationale. We propose that ethics is the key by which disputes and conflicts among the economic, social, and environmental domains can and ought to be resolved. This work argues that if we fail to recognize the essential ethical grounding of sustainability, or if we take it for granted, then sustainability can easily lose its way and can end up unjustified.
Impact of external costs of unplanned supply interruptions on water company efficiency: Evidence from Chile
2020
Abstract Conventional performance assessments of water companies ignore the external costs due to water supply outages. To overcome this gap, we evaluate the impact of external costs of unplanned supply interruptions on the efficiency of water companies. Two efficiency metrics, internal technical efficiency (ITE), and total technical efficiency (TTE), were estimated based on data envelopment analysis (DEA). The results evidence that the external costs of unplanned water supply interruptions impact, on average, 7.9% of the efficiency of water companies. We also explored the impact of a set of environmental variables on water company efficiency.
Heterogeneity of traditional and digital media use among older adults: A six-country comparison
2021
Abstract The concept of aged heterogeneity has been associated with older adults' ability to adapt to the digital age without a systematic empirical analysis. We analyse retired adults' (aged 62 or more) use of traditional media and their digital equivalents in six countries. First, we ask whether heterogeneity in traditional and digital media use increases with age. Second, we study to what extent gender is related to this heterogeneity, and third, the country differences in the heterogeneity of media use in later life. We analyse the 2018 data (N = 5865) of the ‘Older audiences in the digital media environment’ survey using zero-inflated negative binomial models. The results provide parti…
Social decision making on technology and the environment in Spain
1999
Abstract This paper outlines the current status of the direct participation of citizens and public interest groups in decision making, on issues related to technology and the environment in the context of one specific country, namely Spain. It presents the kind of public participation possible today in Spain, where participatory management of technology is still relatively limited. The article analyzes the causes for the current situation, based on several recent case studies, as well as views expressed by key actors. The cases described, encompass a wide range of modern technologies, and include genetic engineering, environmental information, forestry management, and also the environmental…
How Brexit affects EU external action: The UK’s legacy in European international cooperation
2018
Abstract What exactly Brexit means for British engagement in European external affairs and development cooperation, is highly unclear, while its potential impact is considerable. After the general election in the UK on 8 June 2017, uncertainty regarding the direction, process and timing of the Brexit negotiations and the risk of a disorderly separation have risen further. The government position of a ‘hard Brexit’ seems no longer to be carved in stone. Yet, given the expected – total or partial – withdrawal of a major EU member state, like any area of EU politics, also European development policy faces a number of challenges: short-term problems regarding existing legal obligations, looming…
A new perspective of innovation toward a non-contact society - Amazon's initiative in pioneering growing seamless switching
2022
This paper elucidates the inside of the black box of Amazon's unique research and development (R&D) dynamism that made it the world's top R&D leader by transforming “routine or periodic alterations” into “significant improvement” during the R&D process. This dynamism also succeeded in transforming the COVID-19 pandemic period into a springboard for new innovation, leading to Amazon's notable growth notwithstanding the pandemic. An empirical analysis using a techno-economic approach focusing on Amazon's endeavor to develop a series of advanced digital fashions (ADFs) and online-based luxury brands (neo-luxury) before and during the COVID-19 pandemic was conducted. Amazon became a global appa…
Images of the future for a circular economy : The case of Finland
2022
A transition from a linear to a circular economy (CE) is one of the key solutions to the sustainability crisis. A CE requires new mental models and insights, especially of a desirable future towards which to move. A CE aims at making better use of resources and jointly considers economic, environmental and social sustainability aspects in the long run. The objective of this study is to develop alternative images of the future for CE in Finland in 2050. The study was performed using qualitative research methods and covers extensive data from 61 interviews with experts. We analysed the data using qualitative content analysis. Four alternative images of the future were generated: A circular su…
Consolidated challenge to social demand for resilient platforms : Lessons from Uber's global expansion
2017
Many in the industry see the ride-sharing company Uber as the significant advancement through information and communication technology (ICT) particularly of the digital service platform and sharing economy. Uber has been exploring the new frontier of the ICT-driven disruptive business model (IDBM) and succeeded in its global expansion to over 479 cities in more than 75 countries worldwide in June of 2016. Such rapid expansion provides constructive insights regarding the significance of IDBM, not only in transportation but also in almost all other business fields. While at the same time Uber's legal battles in some cities around the world raise a serious question regarding the rationale of I…
Co-evolution of three mega-trends nurtures un-captured GDP – Uber's ride-sharing revolution
2016
Uber used a disruptive business model driven by digital technology to trigger a ride-sharing revolution. The institutional sources of the company’s platform ecosystem architecture were analyzed to explain this revolutionary change. Both an empirical analysis of a co-existing development trajectory with taxis and institutional enablers that helped to create Uber’s platform ecosystem were analyzed. The analysis identified a correspondence with the “two-faced” nature of ICT that nurtures un-captured GDP. This two-faced nature of ICT can be attributed to a virtuous cycle of decline in prices and an increase in the number of trips. We show that this cycle can be attributed to a self-propagating …
Electronic Health Records reshaping the socio-technical practices in Long-Term Care of older persons
2020
Electronic Health Records (EHRs) in Long-Term Care (LTC) of older persons are expected to improve resident-centered care by reducing ambiguities in information coordination between LTC workers and organisations. While there are research findings concerning such intended outcomes, we are interested in analysing what sort of other, possibly unanticipated outcomes the use of EHRs in LTC may produce. We argue that the scrutiny of EHRs in LTC requires an understanding of their implementation as socio-technical processes, whereby EHRs are perceived as performative artifacts of LTC rather than technological tools or passive objects. While EHRs have been extensively studied in health-care settings,…