Alexandra Waluszewski, Alessandro Cinti and Andrea Perna
Limiting the use of antibiotics in food animals is a cornerstone of contemporary EU policy. Despite that marketing of antibiotics for growth promotion and nutrition has been…
Abstract
Purpose
Limiting the use of antibiotics in food animals is a cornerstone of contemporary EU policy. Despite that marketing of antibiotics for growth promotion and nutrition has been banned since 2006, the use is still high and varied. This paper aims to investigate the forces behind the different usage patterns in Italy, with one of the EU’s most extensive use of antibiotics in animals, versus Sweden, with the union’s most restricted use, including how these usage patterns are related to EU and national policies.
Design/methodology/approach
The industrial network approach/the 4R resources interaction model is adopted to investigate the major forces behind the different antibiotic usage patterns. Furthermore, the study relies on the notion of three main characteristics related to the use of a resource activated in several user settings (Håkansson and Waluszewski, 2008, pp. 20–22). The paper investigates the Swedish and the Italian using settings, with a minimised, respectively, extensive usage of antibiotics. The study is exploratory in nature and based on qualitative data collected through a combination of primary and secondary sources.
Findings
The paper underlines the importance of integrating forces for policy to succeed in attempts to reduce the use of a particular resource. It reveals that Sweden’s radically reduced use was based on great awareness, close interactions between animal-based food producers and policy – and that integrating forces were supported by an era of state-protected food production, with promising ability to distribute the cost of change. The Italian characteristics hindering the integration of forces mounting for reduced use were restricted awareness, top-down business and policy interactions – and a great awareness about the difficulties of distributing the cost of change.
Originality/value
The study deals with the analysis of forces affecting the different usage of antibiotics within two EU settings. The investigation, based on the industrial network approach’s notion of connectivity of economic resources, that is, of exchange having a content and substance beyond discrete transactions, reveals how indirect related contextual forces, neglected by policy, have an important influence on the ability to achieve change, in this case of antibiotics usage patterns.
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The research questions to be answered by this meta-analysis are as follows: What is the average effect in the literature of an increase in debt on a country’s economic growth? Is…
Abstract
Purpose
The research questions to be answered by this meta-analysis are as follows: What is the average effect in the literature of an increase in debt on a country’s economic growth? Is the direction of this link positive, negative or zero? Is there, and to what extent, a certain degree of heterogeneity in the results of the studies analyzed? If heterogeneity exists, what influences it? Is there publication bias in this area of research? If so, in which direction?
Design/methodology/approach
The methodology employed in the development of a meta-analysis of the literature regarding the debt–growth relationship is based on the seminal paper by Stanley and Jarrell (2005). In this research, we endeavor to adhere as closely as possible to the reporting guidelines established by the Meta-Analysis of Economics Research Network (MAER-Net) (Stanley et al. (2013)), which have been recently updated by Havránek et al. (2020). Therefore, we will first define the effect size and describe the coding phase of the studies. Subsequently, we will present the forest plot and analyze publication bias. The theoretical model adopted will be introduced, and the results concerning the analysis with fixed effects, random effects and the moderator analysis will be shown. Finally, several meta-regressions will be estimated. Additional material can be found in online Appendix.
Findings
First, with regard to publication bias, the analysis indicated a positive asymmetry of the funnel plot, which led to an over-representation of studies with positive effect sizes. The estimated average effect size, as determined by this analysis, is situated between −0.5 and −0.9. Additionally, the substantial prevalence of p-values below 0.05, as evidenced by the three-parameter selection model and the p-curve analysis, indicates the presence of publication bias. Statistically significant results at the 95% level are more likely to be published than results with p-values exceeding the 0.05 threshold. The mean effect size is −0.2 in the multi-level analysis, while it is slightly larger in absolute terms in the analysis of the entire sample and zero in the reduced sample (where the average PCC for each study is considered). Heterogeneity is a prominent feature of the data, with differences observed both within and between studies. The within-study variability is more pronounced than the between-study variability. Heterogeneity persists when moderators are analyzed. Among these, the moderators that lower the level of heterogeneity and thus explain the different estimates across studies are region, income and development level, the variables used as proxies and the methodology used.
Originality/value
First, the paper sets out to quantify the debt–growth nexus, using all the relevant literature. In the most recent crises, policymakers have taken expansive fiscal policy measures to stimulate the economy. Many academics concur with this approach. Given the limited spending capacity of some economies, new debt instruments have been adopted, for example, in Europe, to finance NRRPs. It is therefore of great interest to ascertain the extent to which new debt issuance is correlated with higher economic growth and to examine how this correlation varies over time and across different geographical locations. The meta-analysis by Heimberger (2023) primarily focuses on the nonlinearities of this relationship, which we do not rule out characterizing. In contrast, here we propose the first comprehensive meta-analysis on the linear relationship between public debt and growth. Furthermore, this study introduces the use of the partial correlation coefficient (PCC) as an effect size. This is the inaugural study of this coefficient in the context of the debt–growth relationship, and it offers several advantages. Indeed, the variable employed is unitless, thereby facilitating the comparison of studies conducted with disparate methodologies, samples and numbers of regressors. Nevertheless, our estimates can serve as a reference point for those who wish to propose supplementary meta-analyses employing a distinct effect size. Moreover, the analysis is robust in all its points, as several methods are proposed both to identify publication bias, to analyze moderators and to assess the average effect size and heterogeneity. Indeed, one novelty is the use of estimation techniques such as deep moderator analysis and the BMA method for metaregression. Finally, for the first time, we include both continuous and categorical moderators (which are transformed into dummy variables only for the Bayesian model averaging analysis). In addition, we analyze additional moderators not considered in previous meta-analyses, such as region, external debt, income level, proxies for dependent and independent variables and focus on nonlinearities.
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JinHyo Joseph Yun, Xiaofei Zhao, Inhyouk Koo, Yuri Sadoi and Andreas Pyka
A research gap exists regarding the impact of digital transformation on automotive open innovation, despite extensive literature on both topics individually. This study aims to…
Abstract
Purpose
A research gap exists regarding the impact of digital transformation on automotive open innovation, despite extensive literature on both topics individually. This study aims to fill this.
Design/methodology/approach
The study analyzes patent-based open innovation before and after the digital transformation, focusing on US patents filed by automakers from South Korea, Japan and Germany during three periods: 2000–2001, 2010–2011 and 2020–2021. Second, in-depth interviews with selected automotive firms from these countries were conducted to complement the patent analysis and develop grounded theory.
Findings
The common effect of digital transformation on automotive firms’ open innovation channels in all three countries follows a trajectory from R&D collaboration through value chain open innovation to open innovation in other industries. There are notable differences in the primary focus of open innovation among automakers in the three countries, with South Korea emphasizing R&D, Japan focusing on the automotive value chain and Germany engaging in open innovation with other industries.
Research limitations/implications
Investigating the differences in open innovation channels and structures between electric auto parts and non-electric auto parts through case studies and the statistical research method could be a compelling next research topic as another limitation of this research.
Originality/value
First, this research demonstrates that firms in the same sectoral innovation system can cultivate different open innovation channels within the knowledge funnel, depending on the regional innovation system (RIS) and national innovation system (NIS). Second, with DT, existing firms’ value chains are evolving and expanding from traditional trajectories to new, information technology-related sub-sectors.
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Matteo Pozzoli, Francesco Paolone, Elbano de Nuccio and Riccardo Tiscini
This paper aims to investigate materiality judgement providing insights, critiques and future research paths in light of the open debate on the role of materiality in corporate…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to investigate materiality judgement providing insights, critiques and future research paths in light of the open debate on the role of materiality in corporate financial disclosure, highlighting potential connections and implications with sustainability and intellectual capital (IC) reporting.
Design/methodology/approach
The research presents an overview of the analysis of financial materiality, including new stimuli from recent studies and regulatory requirements for financial and non-financial reporting. Accordingly, this study used a systematic literature review (SLR) based on a combination of content, text and bibliometric analysis of materiality in accounting research studies, collecting data from the Scopus database as one of the most relevant repositories.
Findings
The SLR identified four relevant research trends, concerning: (1) the relevance of materiality principles in corporate disclosure; (2) financial reporting practices and materiality; (3) theories and approaches in defining financial materiality and (4) the existence of quantitative and qualitative thresholds in the materiality judgement.
Research limitations/implications
The results provide theoretical and practical implications when comprehending the development of the concept of financial materiality in financial statements and whether they can be appropriate in reporting IC as well. We identified future research paths.
Practical implications
From a practical perspective, this study is useful for companies implementing financial materiality based on stakeholder engagement and improving their transparency in financial and non-financial reporting practices.
Social implications
The research investigates if the process for assessing materiality is in line with the expectations of all stakeholders involved in financial and non-financial reporting.
Originality/value
This research is the first to investigate the scientific basis and applicability of the concept of financial materiality to sustainability and IC reporting.