Search results

The so-called “oil price war” of 2014-2016 took place between several main global oil producers; OPEC (led by Saudi Arabia), Russia and the newcomer; American tight oil or fracking oil. These oil producers were competing against each other over market shares in the global oil market, by maintaining their high oil production rates, even if this led to a decline in oil prices and a reduction in revenues from oil sales. As energy politics need more coverage in International Political Economy (IPE) theory, this paper aims to argue that Saudi Arabia's policies during the oil price war of 2014-2016 reflected a policy of neomercantilism, which is the IPE equivalent of the school of realism in International Relations (IR).

This paper tests for neomercantilism by testing three of its main definitional components. The first definitional component is that the state, as the political authority, intervenes in the economic decisions. The second component is the primacy of the state interests over business corporate profits, or the primacy of political and security considerations over short-term economic and corporate profit considerations. The third is the zero-sum or relative gains nature of dealings between states. Afterwards, this paper tests for neomercantilism in the Saudi policy by examining how each of these definitional components is reflected in the Saudi policy during the oil price war.

As energy politics need more coverage in International Political Economy (IPE) theory, this paper argues that Saudi Arabia's policies during the oil price war of 2014-2016 reflected a policy of neomercantilism, which is the IPE equivalent of the school of realism in International Relations (IR).

As energy politics need more coverage in International Political Economy (IPE) theory, this paper argues that Saudi Arabia's policies during the oil price war of 2014-2016 reflected a policy of neomercantilism, which is the IPE equivalent of the school of realism in International Relations (IR).

The paper follows Jason Cope's (2011) vision of a holistic perspective on the failure-based learning process. By analyzing the research since Cope's first attempt, which is often fragmentary in nature, and providing novel empirical insights, the paper aims to draw a new comprehensive picture of all five phases of entrepreneurial learning and their interplay.

The study features an interpretative phenomenological analysis of in-depth interviews with 18 failed entrepreneurs. Findings are presented and discussed in line with experiential learning theory and Cope's conceptual framework of five interrelated learning timeframes spanning from the descent into failure until re-emergence.

The study reveals different patterns of how entrepreneurs experience failure, ranging from abrupt to gradual descent paths, different management and coping behaviors, and varying learning effects depending on the new professional setting (entrepreneurial vs non-entrepreneurial). Analyzing the entrepreneurs' experiences throughout the process shows different paths and connections between individual phases. Findings indicate that the learning timeframes may overlap, appear in different orders, loop, or (partly) stay absent, indicating that the individual learning process is even more dynamic and heterogeneous than hitherto known.

The paper contributes to the field of entrepreneurial learning from failure, advancing Cope's seminal work on the learning process and -contents by providing novel empirical insights and discussing them in the light of recent scientific findings. Since entrepreneurial learning from failure is a complex and dynamic process, using a holistic lens in the analysis contributes to a better understanding of this phenomenon as an integrated whole.

Despite the increased retrofitting of Finnish residential buildings, there are limited post-retrofit studies on the actual measured indoor environmental quality (IEQ) and occupant satisfaction during summer-time. This paper provides a better understanding of the actual performance of retrofitted residential apartment buildings in Finland, focusing on some aspects of and the risk of summer overheating through post-occupancy evaluation (POE).

The study used both qualitative and quantitative data collection methods, including satisfaction surveys, indoor air temperature and relative humidity measurements, self-reported behaviour forms, open-ended discussions, and site visits in five apartments in different residential buildings in Tampere city, monitored during the summer-time, for at least 2 weeks at a time.

While occupants were positive regarding most aspects of IEQ, concerns about indoor air quality (IAQ), summer overheating and acoustic comfort were raised. The summer-time monitoring highlighted that indoor air temperatures could reach as high as 27 °C for 2–9 days depending on the monitored apartment. Little cloud cover and warmer outdoor temperatures directly influenced indoor air temperature overheating. For some aspects of the investigated IEQ parameters, it was noted that while occupants’ satisfaction was influenced by the length of their residence, their acceptance of the same conditions remained positive over time (i.e. more than one year) as they adapted over time.

The number of participants and case studies was relatively small due to the well-known difficulty in gaining access to private homes, so the results do not allow generalisation but do provide interesting insights of these specific cases to be validated with future additional research. The short sequential rather than long-term parallel monitoring of the case study apartments was another limitation making comparison between cases and understanding reasons for differences difficult.

Findings highlight the need to maintain the performance of housing in Finland during summer-time. The highlighted subjective issues emphasised in this study underscore the necessity for enhanced pre- and post-retrofit quality processes and the prompt resolution of issues as they arise. The integration of POE studies into all residential construction practices becomes pivotal for the advancement of sustainable homes now, but also in the future, especially when subjected to a warming climate.

This study is among the few POE studies conducted in Finland, offering insights into post-retrofit performance and occupant satisfaction during the summer-time. The study highlights the potential of POE to understand the performance of retrofitted Finnish apartments from a user-centric perspective.