Search results for "PROFITABILITY"
showing 10 items of 176 documents
On the Reliability of Optimization Results for Trigeneration Systems in Buildings, in the Presence of Price Uncertainties and Erroneous Load Estimati…
2016
Cogeneration and trigeneration plants are widely recognized as promising technologies for increasing energy efficiency in buildings. However, their overall potential is scarcely exploited, due to the difficulties in achieving economic viability and the risk of investment related to uncertainties in future energy loads and prices. Several stochastic optimization models have been proposed in the literature to account for uncertainties, but these instruments share in a common reliance on user-defined probability functions for each stochastic parameter. Being such functions hard to predict, in this paper an analysis of the influence of erroneous estimation of the uncertain energy loads and pric…
Organic farming and economic sustainability: The case of Sicilian durum wheat
2014
In last years, the organic farming in the world is developing rapidly and Italy is the sixth country for organic area. Sicily is the main organic area of Italian territory and represents the first region for organic cereals. Among these durum wheat is the crop most widespread, especially in the hilly hinterland areas. The paper aims to analyze the economic sustainability of organic durum wheat. For this purpose, it has been determined the gross m argin of whea t within crop rotations of the Sici lian hilly hinterland, comparing 10 organic farms with 10 conventional farms. The results show a higher gross margin of organic wheat respect to conventional one, due to lower variable costs and hig…
Economic and Financial Comparison between Organic and Conventional Farming in Sicilian Lemon Orchards
2015
Sicily has a long tradition in citrus fruit cultivations that with vineyard and olive tree represent the main Mediterranean tree crops. In this paper we have evaluated the economic and financial sustainability of lemon production, both in organic farming and in conventional farming
Return on capital in Spanish tourism businesses: A comparative analysis of family vs non-family businesses
2016
The analysis of the keys to competitiveness in the tourism sector has an unquestionable justification for its importance in the Spanish economy and its global growth prospects. The need for a better understanding of the keys to the competitiveness of the tourism firm is also fuelled by the magnitude of the challenges that it faces and by the sector structure, characterised by a notable weight of family-owned businesses. The objective of this research lies precisely in developing a diagnosis of the return on capital of the tourism sector and the determinants of its evolution in the family business (FB) vs non-family business (NFB). Specifically, this study focuses on the analysis of both fir…
Costs, revenues and incomes of Sicilian farms that cultivate cactus pear
2015
Sicily, placed at the center of the Mediterranean, for its favorable soil and climatic conditions, represents the main production area of cactus pear (Opuntia ficus-indica L. Miller) in Italy. In this context, the paper aims to estimate production costs, revenues and incomes of the Sicilian farms that cultivate cactus pear. The economic analysis has been carried out in the area of Santa Margherita Belice (AG), where the cultivation of cactus pear assumes a significant importance for the economy of the territory and where in last years many farmers have implanted specialized plantations also for the support granted by the EU agricultural policy. Economic analysis has involved 20 farms specia…
Analysis of efficiency and profitability of franchise services
2014
The present study analyses the relative efficiency of franchise services and characterises the best companies, confirming the relationship between efficiency and profit. These companies are from the trade and other services sector , the main group of service-providing companies in the Spanish economy. The methodology calls for first comparing the relative efficiency of franchisers and ownership enterprises. Second, the focus turns to the most efficient franchise services, using a super-efficiency model to rank them. The paper then goes on to cover the analysis of the main characteristics of the best franchise enterprises, the number of own establishments in a franchise business and the prof…
Constructing the Audit Risk Assessment by the Audit Team Leader When Planning: Using Fuzzy Theory
2021
The aim of this study is to construct the assessment of the expected audit risk by the audit team leader (ATL) during the planification phase of the audit. The ATL plays an important role within the audit, and even more so regarding small and medium-sized (SME) audit firms. The audit risk assessment is critical as relying more (less) on internal controls implemented by the client leads to performing less (more) substantive audit procedures. This is determined by the ATL based on their professional judgement and previous experience. The use of fuzzy theory has powerful potential into the audit arena, as the audit risk assessment (outcome) is critically related to the auditors’ judgement and …
Measuring International Competitiveness of Romania by Using Porter's Diamond and Revealed Comparative Advantage
2013
Abstract International competitiveness generate a number of challenges because creates profitability for companies, welfare for citizens, sustainable prosperity for the economy as long as it is perceived as a constructive concept. The aim of present paper is to identify the international competitiveness of Romania by analyze the competitive advantage and disadvantage according to Porter‘s Diamond, on one hand, and by calculate revealed comparative advantage according to Balasa, on the other hand. The results show that Romanian has more competitive disadvantage than competitive advantage, even if by comparison with European Union, Romania has some revealed comparative advantage.
Weak and Strong Compensation for the Prioritization of Public Investments: Multidimensional Analysis for Pools
2015
Despite the economic crisis still heavily affecting most of Europe, a possible resumption can be found in the revitalization of public and private investments. These investments should be directed not only towards the strategic areas of infrastructures and production, but also to those which allow for a higher level of the quality of life (sports facilities, parks, etc.). In such cases, the need to balance the reasons of financial sustainability with environmental and social profiles is even more evident. Thus, multicriteria techniques, supporting complex assessments, should be implemented together with a monetary feasibility study (cost-benefit analysis). Multidimensional methods allow for…
An overview of the impact of electrotechnologies for the recovery of oil and high-value compounds from vegetable oil industry: Energy and economic co…
2016
Oil recovery from oilseeds and fruits is one of the food processes where efficiency is the key to ensure profitability. Wastes and by-products generated during oil production process are, on the other hand, a great source of high-added value compounds that could be recovered in turn at a later stage. In many cases, physical extraction processes present efficiency problems or just not profitable, requiring a chemical solvent extraction that could be toxic and difficult to manage from an environmental point of view. Furthermore, the use of high temperatures to improve and/or accelerate the processes (with consequent degradation of thermolabile compounds) is usually required. Therefore, the ap…