Luis Orea, Inmaculada Álvarez-Ayuso and Luis Servén
This chapter provides an empirical assessment of the effects of infrastructure provision on structural change and aggregate productivity using industrylevel data for a set of…
Abstract
This chapter provides an empirical assessment of the effects of infrastructure provision on structural change and aggregate productivity using industrylevel data for a set of developed and developing countries over 1995–2010. A distinctive feature of the empirical strategy followed is that it allows the measurement of the resource reallocation directly attributable to infrastructure provision. To achieve this, a two-level top-down decomposition of aggregate productivity that combines and extends several strands of the literature is proposed. The empirical application reveals significant production losses attributable to misallocation of inputs across firms, especially among African countries. Also, the results show that infrastructure provision has stimulated aggregate total factor productivity growth through both within and between industry productivity gains.
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Giovanna Culot, Matteo Podrecca and Guido Nassimbeni
This study analyzes the performance implications of adopting blockchain to support supply chain business processes. The technology holds as many promises as implementation…
Abstract
Purpose
This study analyzes the performance implications of adopting blockchain to support supply chain business processes. The technology holds as many promises as implementation challenges, so interest in its impact on operational performance has grown steadily over the last few years.
Design/methodology/approach
Drawing on transaction cost economics and the contingency theory, we built a set of hypotheses. These were tested through a long-term event study and an ordinary least squares regression involving 130 adopters listed in North America.
Findings
Compared with the control sample, adopters displayed significant abnormal performance in terms of labor productivity, operating cycle and profitability, whereas sales appeared unaffected. Firms in regulated settings and closer to the end customer showed more positive effects. Neither industry-level competition nor the early involvement of a project partner emerged as relevant contextual factors.
Originality/value
This research presents the first extensive analysis of operational performance based on objective measures. In contrast to previous studies and theoretical predictions, the results indicate that blockchain adoption is not associated with sales improvement. This can be explained considering that secure data storage and sharing do not guarantee the factual credibility of recorded data, which needs to be proved to customers in alternative ways. Conversely, improvements in other operational performance dimensions confirm that blockchain can support inter-organizational transactions more efficiently. The results are relevant in times when, following hype, there are signs of disengagement with the technology.
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Maria Björklund, Helena Forslund and Veronica Svensson Ülgen
Contradictory sustainability priorities and perspectives among supply chain actors in greening transportation can be challenging. Several of these contradictions can be described…
Abstract
Purpose
Contradictory sustainability priorities and perspectives among supply chain actors in greening transportation can be challenging. Several of these contradictions can be described as paradoxes (i.e. interests that are logical in themselves, but become irrational when perceived together). The aim of this study is to increase the understanding of paradoxical tensions hampering the greening of transportation in transport buyer–supplier dyads.
Design/methodology/approach
A case study method targeting greening transportation in two transport buyer–supplier dyads was applied, followed by an analysis with a point-of-departure in paradox theory.
Findings
Tensions related to performing, belonging, learning and organizing paradoxes in greening transportation were identified. These tensions arise as a consequence of actions, perspectives and other tensions, within three identified loci in individual companies and in dyads.
Research limitations/implications
By identifying examples of tensions through the lens of paradoxes in a particular setting, this study provides an increased understanding of why the transition toward green transportation goes slow, despite the high ambitions of involved actors. The suggested framework provides a novel contribution to the literature that further increases the understanding of tensions, by providing additional insights into where tensions arise and how actions, perspectives and tensions in one place of a locus spectrum can disseminate along that spectrum.
Originality/value
This study is original because it applies paradox theory and the four categories of performing, belonging, learning and organizing within the field of greening transportation, and in particular as a lens to study interactions between different actors.
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Samsul Islam, Yangyan Shi, Jashim Uddin Ahmed and Mohammad Jasim Uddin
The issue of empty truck trips is largely ignored in the current literature. In order to cover this important research gap, the purpose of this paper is to explore, describe…
Abstract
Purpose
The issue of empty truck trips is largely ignored in the current literature. In order to cover this important research gap, the purpose of this paper is to explore, describe, categorize and rank the potential truck-sharing constraints for container trucks traveling empty around the port gates.
Design/methodology/approach
In order to contribute empirically to the current body of knowledge and understandings of truck-sharing constraints, this paper adopts a multi-method empirical approach involving both qualitative interviews and quantitative questionnaire surveys.
Findings
Among many key constraints that influence the future of truck-sharing opportunities, the authors determine, for example, that a carrier’s ability to earn the trust of its competitors is one of the top most important factors of success for a fruitful truck-sharing event. The problem is, perhaps, further complicated because of the increasing competitive environment in the container transport industry, as well as the lack of effective coordination between the key parties involved.
Research limitations/implications
None of the earlier studies has provided a broad understanding and ranking of the truck-sharing constraints that should be considered in truck-sharing events, although the empty trips issue has been limitedly mentioned in the recent academic literature.
Practical implications
Empty truck trips are wasted miles. Wasted empty miles decrease transport capacity in the container distribution chain along with causing an increase in carbon emission, traffic congestion, fuel consumption and environmental pollution. The research results can be used by policy makers to underpin effective measures to prevent the low utilization of trucks.
Originality/value
This study addresses an important gap. To the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study in the area that ranks truck-sharing constraints to reduce empty trucks trips.
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Two types of manoeuvre, in one of which lift coefficient and excess thrust are constant, and in the other of which speed is constant, are analysed. The analysis leads to simple…
Abstract
Two types of manoeuvre, in one of which lift coefficient and excess thrust are constant, and in the other of which speed is constant, are analysed. The analysis leads to simple methods of estimating take‐off and landing airborne paths, and may be useful in the study of some other flight manoeuvres.
Los Angeles, California, is facing record drought conditions. As a result, there is interest in all things related to building and maintaining water capabilities. Leaks in the…
Abstract
Los Angeles, California, is facing record drought conditions. As a result, there is interest in all things related to building and maintaining water capabilities. Leaks in the infrastructure can lead to costly losses of water resources. Accordingly, attention increasingly is being devoted to water leak management. Using data available through the City of Los Angeles’ open data movement, the number of leaks is analyzed in order to study both the impact of temperature and whether the number of leaks is decreasing over time. Three different approaches for modeling the number of leaks, including regression, time series, and neural networks, are compared.
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Martin Kornberger and Chris Carter
Recent years have witnessed an increasing number of cities develop strategies. The discourse of strategic management has become an obligatory point of passage for many city…
Abstract
Purpose
Recent years have witnessed an increasing number of cities develop strategies. The discourse of strategic management has become an obligatory point of passage for many city managers. This paper starts by posing an ostensibly simple question: why do cities need strategies? The commonsensical answer to the question is: because cities compete with each other. This paper aims to problematise the seemingly natural link between cities, competition and strategy. It also aims to explore the role that calculative practices play in creating city league tables that, in turn, function as the a priori condition that generates competition between cities.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper is interdisciplinary and draws on the related disciplines of accounting, organization theory and strategy. The argument unfolds in four steps: first, it briefly provides some theoretical background for analysis and relates it back to strategizing and accounting as a calculative practice; second, it scrutinizes league tables as an a priori of competition; third, it discusses the implications of the argument for city management and critical accounting; finally, it concludes with a discussion of the power effects of those calculative practices that shape strategizing in cities through the production of competition.
Findings
This paper argues that city strategizing is best understood as a set of complex responses to a new competitive arena, one rendered visible through calculative practices, manifested through city rankings. The paper makes five key contributions: one, league tables reduce qualities to a quantifiable form; two, league tables create an order amongst an heterogeneous ensemble of entities; three, league tables stimulate the very competition they claim to reflect; four, once competition is accepted, individual players need a strategy to play the game; and five, league tables have important power effects that may result in unintended consequences.
Practical implications
The paper contributes to understanding how calculative practices relate to strategy; it explores the organizational environment in which city managers strategize; in addition, it discusses the problem of civic schizophrenia.
Originality/value
The paper seeks to open up an agenda for studying city management, strategy and accounting.
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Kirill Lvovich Rozhkov and Natalya Il’inichna Skriabina
This paper aims to develop a theoretical approach to place market analysis that aims to identify the ways in which specific places are used and to further enable the…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to develop a theoretical approach to place market analysis that aims to identify the ways in which specific places are used and to further enable the identification of distinct segments and products.
Design/methodology/approach
Typology construction was chosen as the main study method. Eight polar place demand patterns were classified on the abstract level, using a set of binary variables of spatial behaviour (migration, natural growth and settling). Based on this typology, eight abstract places were deductively described. In conjunction with this deductive study, the authors conducted focus groups, and the results showed considerable similarity in the interpretation of the achieved types.
Findings
This paper arrives at interdependent typologies of place demand, place product and place use patterns that allow the ways of using specific places to be identified and distinctive segments and products to be distinguished as particular, consistent combinations of the achieved types.
Practical implications
The typologies obtained expand the scope of competitive analysis and planning in framing place marketing. Distinct uses of specific places unambiguously point to the features of certain segments and could thereby enable a lucid marketing strategy.
Originality/value
Empirically driven place market research has not precisely defined the distinct ideas and concepts of investigated places, which might reflect the different segments of the population that have different intentions for the use of these places. This paper offers important insights into product differentiation and market segmentation in the frame of simultaneous product use.
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Bo Huang, Jing Dai and Jia Jia Lim
Blockchain-based traceability labels is increasingly adopted in supply chain, yet there is little empirical research to examine effectiveness from consumer perspective. Can…
Abstract
Purpose
Blockchain-based traceability labels is increasingly adopted in supply chain, yet there is little empirical research to examine effectiveness from consumer perspective. Can blockchain technology motivate consumers to purchase sustainable products? Drawing on signaling theory, this paper answers this question by comparing the effect of blockchain-based traceability labels with certification-based labels on consumer purchase intention of sustainable products. We further investigate consumers’ perception of sustainability level as a mediating variable and social enterprise as a boundary condition.
Design/methodology/approach
This study uses three online between-subject experiments with a total of 750 participants. The proposed hypotheses are tested using analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) as well as mediation analysis based on PROCESS macro.
Findings
The results suggest that (1) blockchain-based traceability labels lead to greater consumer purchase intention of sustainable products than certification-based labels; (2) such a positive effect of blockchain-based traceability labels occurs as consumers perceive a higher sustainability level; (3) however, the effect is attenuated when the company is a social enterprise.
Originality/value
This study contributes to the operations and supply chain management (OSCM) literature by studying the effectiveness of blockchain-based traceability labels from the overlooked yet emerging perspective of consumers. We provide a theoretical explanation and empirical evidence of how blockchain-based traceability labels influence consumer purchase intention during sustainable consumption compared with certification-based labels. We thus additionally contribute to the extant research on the intersection of blockchain and sustainability. Moreover, the incorporation of social enterprise as a moderator enriches the application of signaling theory on the context of sustainability signaling.
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The purpose of this paper is to understand the causes and effects of overtourism within the East African region. The paper examines how national governments address the problem of…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to understand the causes and effects of overtourism within the East African region. The paper examines how national governments address the problem of overtourism in East Africa and determines underlying principles and best practice in sustainable tourism certification, local governance and management in dealing with overtourism.
Design/methodology/approach
To address the objectives, the researcher conducted an exploratory experience survey research design. The study examines the different articles in the subject area and interview findings of practitioner respondents. Based on a review of the existing dimensions of overtourism, the effects of overtourism and local governance, the study sought to derive a holistic (systemic and integrated) perspective on the subject matter.
Findings
The paper presents valuable evidence from industry practitioners on the effects of overtourism in East Africa by classifying the effects as psychological, physical, economic and socio-cultural. Further, the paper examines how East African governments address the problem of overtourism and gives recommendations on ways to enforce, govern and coordinate implementation of tourism regulations and policies in East Africa.
Originality/value
This paper is the first to address overtourism in the context of East Africa, examining different local and innovative approaches to dealing with the impacts of overtourism in an East African context.