Sarah Krömer and Nadine Gatzert
The purpose of this paper is to study investments in renewable energy projects which are jointly operated with an energy storage system, with particular focus on risk-return…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to study investments in renewable energy projects which are jointly operated with an energy storage system, with particular focus on risk-return characteristics from the perspective of private and institutional investors, taking into account resource risk, energy price risk, inflation risk and policy risk.
Design/methodology/approach
To this end, this paper presents a stochastic discounted cash flow model which is then applied to a wind farm with a pumped hydro storage system.
Findings
The results show that energy storage systems have the potential to increase the expected present value of future investment cash flows and to hedge (downside) risk. However, to realize this potential, storage systems have to be cost-effective in terms of fixed operation, maintenance, staffing and insurance costs. Also, several key factors are identified which have a considerable influence on the performance of the operation strategy.
Originality/value
The paper contributes to the literature by conducting an analysis of (downside) risk and return of renewable energy investments with a storage system taking into account stochastic policy, resource, inflation and energy price risk.
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Ana C. Lopes, Álvaro M. Sampaio and António J. Pontes
With the technological progress, high-performance materials are emerging in the market of additive manufacturing to comply with the advanced requirements demanded for technical…
Abstract
Purpose
With the technological progress, high-performance materials are emerging in the market of additive manufacturing to comply with the advanced requirements demanded for technical applications. In selective laser sintering (SLS), innovative powder materials integrating conductive reinforcements are attracting much interest within academic and industrial communities as promising alternatives to common engineering thermoplastics. However, the practical implementation of functional materials is limited by the extensive list of conditions required for a successful laser-sintering process, related to the morphology, powder size and shape, heat resistance, melt viscosity and others. The purpose of this study is to explore composite materials of polyamide 12 (PA12) incorporating multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNT) and graphene nanoplatelets (GNP), aiming to understand their suitability for advanced SLS applications.
Design/methodology/approach
PA12-MWCNT and PA12-GNP materials were blended through a pre-optimized process of mechanical mixing with various percentages of reinforcement between 0.50 wt.% and 3.00 wt.% and processed by SLS with appropriate volume energy density. Several test specimens were produced and characterized with regard to processability, thermal, mechanical, electrical and morphological properties. Finally, a comparative analysis of the performance of both carbon-based materials was performed.
Findings
The results of this research demonstrated easier processability and higher tensile strength and impact resistance for composites incorporating MWCNT but higher tensile elastic modulus, compressive strength and microstructural homogeneity for GNP-based materials. Despite the decrease in mechanical properties, valuable results of electrical conductivity were obtained with both carbon solutions until 10–6 S/cm.
Originality/value
The carbon-based composites developed in this research allow for the expansion of the applicability of laser-sintered parts to advanced fields, including electronics-related industries that require functional materials capable of protecting sensitive devices against electrostatic discharge.
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Ana Pinto Borges, Elvira Pacheco Vieira, Paula Rodrigues, António Lopes de Almeida and Ana Sousa
This study aimed to detect the relationships between mindfulness and events participation, and then between the later and psychological empowerment.
Abstract
Purpose
This study aimed to detect the relationships between mindfulness and events participation, and then between the later and psychological empowerment.
Design/methodology/approach
The proposed model's underlying hypotheses were empirically tested with data collected through an online survey addressed to a convenience sample of frequent leisure participants (n = 199). The authors applied the structural equation model (SEM) to confirm the aforementioned relationships. To assess the adequacy of the psychometric properties of the measures, the authors performed a confirmatory factor analysis of the measurement model, with a maximum likelihood estimation method.
Findings
Under the effects of the lockdown period environment, the results express a positive relationship between a mindful state of mind – related to observation/attention – and the yearnings and perceptions about the participation in events. This relationship for consistency was proven to be moderated by the perception of the participation importance to the individual subjective well-being/mental health. Due to participation insights, there was a positive effect on psychological empowerment, supporting the relationship that had been hypothesized.
Originality/value
The authors propose and test a new model that contributes to the theory and examines how mindfulness behavior can effect more alluring and intense participation in events and what are the anticipated outcomes in terms of psychological empowerment.
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The purpose of this paper is to assess model risk with regard to wind energy output in monthly cash flow models for the purpose of valuation and risk assessment of wind farm…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to assess model risk with regard to wind energy output in monthly cash flow models for the purpose of valuation and risk assessment of wind farm investments, where only a few approaches exist in the literature.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper focuses on the risk-return characteristics of this investment from the perspective of private and institutional investors and takes into account several risks, in particular the resource risk related to the uncertainty of the monthly wind energy produced. To this end, this paper presents different approaches for modeling monthly wind power output and assesses the impact of three selected models with different properties on the investment’s risk-return characteristics by means of a stochastic discounted cash flow model. In addition, the model considers the possibility of a joint operation of the wind farm with a pumped hydro storage system to reduce risk and improve profits.
Findings
The results show that the (non-)consideration of seasonality of the monthly wind energy produced considerably influences the risk-return characteristics, but that principal developments dependent on input parameters and model variables remain similar.
Originality/value
This paper contributes to the literature by presenting different approaches for modeling the monthly wind energy produced based on direct models of the wind energy output, which are rare in the existing literature. Further, their impact on risk-return characteristics of a wind farm investment is analyzed, and thus, related model risk is assessed.
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Qiang Wang, Min Zhang and Rongrong Li
This study aims to explore the gap between research and practice on supply chain risks due to COVID-19 by exploring the changes in global emphasis on supply chain risk research.
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to explore the gap between research and practice on supply chain risks due to COVID-19 by exploring the changes in global emphasis on supply chain risk research.
Design/methodology/approach
This work designed a research framework to compare the research of supply chain risks before and during the COVID-19 pandemic based on machining learning and text clustering and using the relevant publications of the web of science database.
Findings
The results show that scholars' attention to supply chain crisis has increased in the wake of the COVID-19 outbreak, but there are differences among countries. The United Kingdom, India, Australia, the USA and Italy have greatly increased their emphasis on risk research, while the supply chain risk research growth rate in other countries, including China, has been lower than the global level. Compared with the pre-pandemic period, the research of business finance, telecommunications, agricultural economics policy, business and public environmental occupational health increased significantly during the pandemic. The hotspots of supply chain risk research have changed significantly during the pandemic, focusing on routing problem, organizational performance, food supply chain, dual-channel supply chain, resilient supplier selection, medical service and machine learning.
Research limitations/implications
This study has limitations in using a single database.
Social implications
This work compared the changes in global and various countries' supply chain risk research before and during the pandemic. On the one hand, it helps to judge the degree of response of scholars to the global supply chain risk brought about by COVID-19. On the other hand, it is beneficial for supply chain practitioners and policymakers to gain an in-depth understanding of the relationship between the COVID-19 pandemic and supply chain risk, which might provide insights into not only addressing the supply chain risk but also the recovery of the supply chain.
Originality/value
The initial exploration of the changing extent of supply chain risk research in the context of COVID-19 provided in this paper is a unique and earlier attempt that extends the findings of the existing literature. Secondly, this research provides a feasible analysis strategy for supply chain risk research, which provides a direction and paradigm for exploring more effective supply chain research to meet the challenges of COVID-19.
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Sriram K.V. and Sumukh Hungund
This study aims to analyze the influence of inbound and outbound open innovation practices on firm performance among Indian product small and medium-sized enterprises.
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to analyze the influence of inbound and outbound open innovation practices on firm performance among Indian product small and medium-sized enterprises.
Design/methodology/approach
A cross-sectional design with a quantitative approach is adopted. The data is collected from 213 decision-makers of software product firms through an online survey using the criteria-based snowball sampling method. The data is processed in IBM SPSS 23.0 and analyzed using multiple regression.
Findings
Collaboration with customers and purchasing intellectual property rights (IPR) are the key inbound practices that positively influence firm performance. Outbound innovation practices such as selling out IPR and spin-off influence firm performance negatively and positively, respectively. Inbound open innovation practice such as trade show participation helps in product development and outbound open innovation practice such as spin-off helps in product development.
Originality/value
The study analyses the influences of inbound and outbound open innovation practices on firm performance among software product firms in emerging economies. The research outcomes have vast implications for theory and practitioners.
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Jose Manuel Azevedo, Ema P. Oliveira and Patrícia Damas Beites
The purpose of this paper is to find appropriate forms of analysis of multiple-choice questions (MCQ) to obtain an assessment method, as fair as possible, for the students. The…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to find appropriate forms of analysis of multiple-choice questions (MCQ) to obtain an assessment method, as fair as possible, for the students. The authors intend to ascertain if it is possible to control the quality of the MCQ contained in a bank of questions, implemented in Moodle, presenting some evidence with Item Response Theory (IRT) and Classical Test Theory (CTT). The used techniques can be considered a type of Descriptive Learning Analytics since they allow the measurement, collection, analysis and reporting of data generated from students’ assessment.
Design/methodology/approach
A representative data set of students’ grades from tests, randomly generated with a bank of questions implemented in Moodle, was used for analysis. The data were extracted from a Moodle database using MySQL with an ODBC connector, and collected in MS ExcelTM worksheets, and appropriate macros programmed with VBA were used. The analysis with the CTT was done through appropriate MS ExcelTM formulas, and the analysis with the IRT was approached with an MS ExcelTM add-in.
Findings
The Difficulty and Discrimination Indexes were calculated for all the questions having enough answers. It was found that the majority of the questions presented values for these indexes, which leads to a conclusion that they have quality. The analysis also showed that the bank of questions presents some internal consistency and, consequently, some reliability. Groups of questions with similar features were obtained, which is very important for the teacher to develop tests as fair as possible.
Originality/value
The main contribution and originality that can be found in this research is the definition of groups of questions with similar features, regarding their difficulty and discrimination properties. These groups allow the identification of difficulty levels in the questions on the bank of questions, thus allowing teachers to build tests, randomly generated with Moodle, that include questions with several difficulty levels in the tests, as it should be done. As far as the authors’ knowledge, there are no similar results in the literature.
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Moulay Othman Idrissi Fakhreddine and Yan Castonguay
Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are currently showing an increasingly open innovation (OI) approach. Public policies supporting the adoption of OI by SMEs are becoming a…
Abstract
Purpose
Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are currently showing an increasingly open innovation (OI) approach. Public policies supporting the adoption of OI by SMEs are becoming a priority for policymakers. Therefore, the aim of this article is to contribute to the literature by mapping scholars' policy recommendations for implementing OI among SMEs.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors conducted a systematic review of the literature (SRL) on the topic to achieve this purpose. A total of 99 academic articles were selected from the Web of Science and Scopus databases to suggest the main scholars' policy recommendations to implement OI among SMEs.
Findings
Results indicated that scholars' policy recommendations for OI adoption in SMEs can be organized into: research and development (R&D), networking, collaboration, knowledge and intellectual property rights (IPR), ecosystem, managerial capabilities, funding and incentives and sustainability policies.
Research limitations/implications
Only relevant articles about this topic have been included due to the reliance on the interpretations of the authors. The analysis of the literature revealed that the authors did not always distinguish policies dedicated to SMEs and those dedicated to large companies. Moreover, policies are not matched according to each OI dimensions (e.g. inbound, outbound and coupled OI).
Originality/value
The article uses a systematic literature review method that combines qualitative and quantitative analyses. This method contributes to theoretical development of OI policies dedicated, in particular to SMEs. This paper also provides policymakers and researchers with insights on the scope of OI policies that could support economic growth.
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Sanjay Kumar Singh and Ajai Pratap Singh
The purpose of this paper is twofold: first, to examine relevant organizational “human” aspects that support circular economy (CE); and second, to investigate the influence of…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is twofold: first, to examine relevant organizational “human” aspects that support circular economy (CE); and second, to investigate the influence of perception of organizational justice (OJ), psychological empowerment on job satisfaction (JS) through mediating role of organizational citizenship behavior (OCB).
Design/methodology/approach
The study used survey questionnaire. The data were statistically analyzed using structural equation modeling (SEM) to test hypotheses of the study.
Findings
OJ positively and significantly influences psychological empowerment. Also, it was found that OCB and psychological empowerment to positively and significantly influence JS. Furthermore, OCB positively and significantly mediates the influence of OJ and psychological empowerment on JS.
Practical implications
Employees should be provided with fair and empowering environment to derive positive outcomes in terms of organizational citizenship behavior and JS. The study also suggests recognizing the importance of OCB in an organization to enhance JS and support CE.
Originality/value
The study presents empirical evidence in Indian context on how to encourage employees to display voluntary job behaviors and keep them job satisfied.