Assessing collective firm behavior: comparing industrial symbiosis with possible alternatives for individual companies in Oahu,HI

Are companies better off acting collectively in sharing resources, such that one company's waste becomes another company's feedstock, or is it strategically preferable to act individually to minimize resource flows? Eleven enterprises on Oahu, HI, were found to be exchanging nine different materials, constituting previously undocumented industrial symbiosis collaboration, anchored by a coal‐fired power plant in the Campbell Industrial Park. The environmental and economic performance of eight companies exchanging six of these materials is assessed based on price and quantity data collected during interviews with the participants. The largest environmental benefits were found to be reduced landfilling and conservation of primary materials, including 40 million gallons of fresh water and approximately 17 800 tons of coal annually. The research finds that symbiotic solutions, when made visible, are often preferable, especially on an island. Indeed, company managers who fail to consider symbiotic solutions for resource issues risk overlooking the most effective strategic options. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment.     

Adding business value: a strategy for identifying and patenting environment‐related inventions and avoiding patent infringement

For many environmental companies, reaching financial goals is a function of identifying and protecting intellectual property assets, keeping those assets from falling into the hands of competitors and avoiding litigation disputes over the use of those assets. Recognizing that intellectual assets are valuable tangible and intangible assets of a company is the first step in maximizing the value of those assets. However, many environmental companies are not aware that some of their technologies, ideas, concepts and know‐how are potentially patentable and, therefore, fail to maximize the value of those assets by taking advantage of the limited monopolies that patent systems provide to the owners of patents. In the ever‐increasing competitive global market, companies should evaluate their intellectual assets to ensure they are adequately protecting those assets by obtaining patents for ideas that are patentable. As more patents for environmental technologies issue from patent offices around the world, however, the likelihood of infringing one of those patents can increase. Therefore, avoiding infringing others' patents while at the same time identifying and patenting the company's own technologies should be a key business strategy regardless of the size of the environmental company. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. and ERP Environment     

Training as a generator of employee capabilities

In the current global economic environment, companies aiming to obtain lasting competitive advantages must be aware of those abilities that differentiate the company from its competitors. In this sense, personnel training may stimulate the development of certain capabilities related to the company's human resources, which could support this differentiation and hence the desired competitive advantage. For this reason, we have considered as an aim of this work to analyse personnel training as a policy for the development of the organisation's human capital, and its influence on the impulse of three differentiating capabilities, namely the employees' knowledge or know-how, the generation of a collective mind and the organisational commitment of personnel. In this article, we shall first analyse from a theoretical point of view the influence of the company's training policies on the development of certain differentiating capabilities. Then, we shall empirically prove this theoretical relation within the framework of the different business units of a financial institution.     

Positive effects of ageing and age diversity in innovative companies – large‐scale empirical evidence on company productivity

This article investigates how age diversity within a company's workforce affects company productivity. It introduces a theoretical framework that helps integrate results from a broad disciplinary spectrum of ageing and diversity research to derive empirically testable hypotheses on the effects of age diversity on company productivity. It argues that first the balance between costs and benefits of diversity determines the effect of age diversity on company productivity, and that second the type of task performed acts as a moderator. To test these hypotheses, it uses a large‐scale employer–employee panel data set. Results show that increasing age diversity has a positive effect on company productivity if and only if a company engages in creative rather than routine tasks.     

Method of evaluating the impact of ERP implementation critical success factors – a case study in oil and gas industries

The so far implemented enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems have in many cases failed to meet the requirements regarding the business process control, decrease of business costs and increase of company profit margin. Therefore, there is a real need for an evaluation of the influence of ERP on the company's performance indicators. Proposed in this article is an advanced model for the evaluation of the success of ERP implementation on organisational and operational performance indicators in oil–gas companies. The recommended method establishes a correlation between a process-based method, a scorecard model and ERP critical success factors. The method was verified and tested on two case studies in oil–gas companies using the following procedure: the model was developed, tested and implemented in a pilot gas–oil company, while the results were implemented and verified in another gas–oil company.     

Promotion systems and career development in Thailand: a case study of Siam Cement

This paper examines the promotion systems and career development of managers of Siam Cement Public Company Limited, the largest manufacturing conglomerate in Thailand. Since the 1980s, the company has grown into a full-blown conglomerate and is widely considered to be Thailand's most modernized corporation. In the aftermath of the 1997–8 Asian crisis, the meltdown forced the company and other debt-addicted business groups to streamline their debts and organization structures drastically. However, just five years later, the company had bounced back into profitability and first-class corporate governance, and stands firmly in the front rank. Undoubtedly, the company's successful recovery and its current strengths have been driven by the capability and dedication of its managers. This paper focuses on interviews with the company's personnel managers during 1999–2001, and on the personnel profiles of 128 managers (general manager level), in order to examine Siam Cement's human resource management policies and practices, and to draw from this its overall strategies for the development of managerial careers. The main finding was that well-planned recruitment, competitive promotion, concrete performance appraisal and wide-ranging training and development programmes, including job rotation and sending managers to study abroad, are all essential career development strategies.     

Examining the effect of managing GHG emissions on business performance

Unprecedented climate changes menace not only the planetary ecosystem, but also the stability of the global economy. The European Union has for years promoted the transition of the economy towards a model of sustainable development, stimulating companies to adopt a strategic approach based on quality and environmental efficiency, rather than on quantity and reduction of costs. The aim of this study is to analyze how greater attention to the environmental effects of a company's activities (environmental management) and monitoring and reduction of CO₂ emissions (emission management) can improve the company's economic performance. We analyze the financial data and greenhouse gas (GHG) emission figures for a sample of large Italian companies, searching for potential relations between increasing returns on capital invested and the reduction of pollutants. The results show that the companies examined are ever more attentive to environmental policies, and that those with a green vision achieve better operating performance. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment     

The effects of network groups on minority employee turnover intentions

Companies in the United States are concerned with retaining minority employees to maintain or increase the diversity of their workforce. Here we assess the value of one approach companies have used to retain minority employees: “network” groups. Based on data obtained from a large company with extensive network groups, this study compares the turnover intentions of minority employees who have joined one of the company's network groups to those who have not joined one of the company's network groups. The data show that employee network groups can be useful in helping companies retain managerial‐level minority employees. Extensive recommendations are provided to help organizations maximize the effectiveness of network groups. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

新环保法实施增大了企业的技术创新投入吗？——基于PSM-DID方法的研究

以2012—2017年A股上市公司为样本,借助双重差分倾向得分匹配法（PSM-DID）研究了新环保法实施这一外生性事件对企业技术创新投入的影响。结果显示,新环保法实施后受影响企业的技术创新投入有所增加,但结果并不显著。进一步探究其原因,发现除新环保法影响可能存在的时滞性特征以外,企业并没有在新环保法实施环境下对企业的资本结构、治理结构和激励方案等影响企业技术创新的重大方面做出及时调整,导致环保法的强制性作用无法快速、有效地影响企业的技术创新。     

Analysis of the impact of university policies on society's environmental perception

Today's society is showing great interest in achieving sustainable development in all socio-economic facets, and higher education institutions stand out as being proactive in this regard. University campuses are successfully implementing policies to curb climate change, energy and water conservation, waste recycling and green transport. In this struggle, education plays an essential role in shaping a population that is aware of the situation and willing to stop —and if possible undo— the damage caused. This study is aimed at evaluating universities' capacity to foster society's environmental perception and commitment. The analysis, which focuses on the Spanish and Italian campuses assessed by GreenMetric during the period 2018–2022, has a twofold objective: to identify the sustainable actions that have a direct impact on students' and researchers' awareness; and to analyse the efficiency of the environmental policies implemented by those responsible for these educational centres, as well as the differences between the two countries' universities. To that end, a panel data model is estimated on a sample composed of the pillars of GreenMetric, with DEA-bootstrap and the sequential Malmquist index then used to assess the efficiency of the actions undertaken. The results reveal the importance of the waste and transport policies implemented on campuses when it comes to the arduous task of kindling society's interest in the environment. Furthermore, both countries show increasing engagement, with productivity improvements of over 36% in the case of Italy.     

Environmental auditing: Management strategy

A project was carried out to identify the external influences that affect participation in environmental audit programmes and the internal factors which may stimulate or modify reaction to these influences. The companies selected for the study were all in manufacturing or supply and with a potential to pollute the environment. The study was progressed by a questionnaire to the person responsible for environmental matters in 100 companies. There was a response rate of 48%. The questionnaire sought information on the company, the beliefs and experiences of the respondents, factors that had influenced the company and how the company had reacted to these. The responses to the questionnaire were analysed to try to determine areas where changes might profitably be made to the environmental management framework. Potential areas for change include a recommendation to establish environmental auditing as a fixed requirement to a fixed standard (BS 7750), with the company's policy and objectives being agreed with Her Majesty's Inspectors of Pollution on a regular basis and audited to achieve British Standard certification. The concept of the environmental crisis portfolio is introduced.     

Behavior of the firm under rate-of-return regulation with two capital inputs

Traditional electric utility companies face a trade-off between building generation facilities that utilize renewable energy (RE) and non-renewable energy (non-RE). The firm's input decision to build capacity for either source depends on several constraining factors, including input prices, policies that promote or discourage RE use, and the type of regulation faced by the firm. This paper models the utility company's decision between RE and non-RE capital inputs. From the model, we derive the result that rate-of-return (ROR) regulation decreases the investment in RE capital relative to the unregulated firm. These findings suggest restructuring electricity generation markets, which removes the ROR on generating assets, can increase the relative use of RE. A second result of the model shows that the renewable portfolio standard (RPS) increases the investment in capital that requires RE as a source of electricity, as expected. This paper contributes to the literature on the substitution between renewable and non-renewable resources, by examining the policies that affect the investment in the two types of technologies. The model can also be applied to other regulated utilities, such as water or natural gas companies, with outputs that are produced from different types of capital.     

公司管理层权力与银行信贷融资决策

运用中国上市公司2010—2013年相关数据,考察公司管理层权力与公司融资结构及银行信贷资源配置,结果显示：公司的管理层结构及高管层权力是公司融资政策选择和银行信贷资源配置的重要动因,公司管理层权力越大,管理层向银行借入短期借款越多,公司管理层权力与短期借款结构正相关。在债务约束效应下,管理层可能会出于个人任期和控制权私利的原因做出影响公司融资决策的行为,在公司银行信贷融资中表现为银行信贷融资规模与公司管理层权力呈现负相关关系,即管理层权力越大,公司配置的银行信贷资源越少;同时,公司管理层权力中结构权力与所有者权力对公司信贷决策有重要影响。     

Productivity and Trade Orientation in UK Manufacturing*

We show that improvements in aggregate productivity in UK manufacturing during the first years after the implementation of the Euro, by the UK's main trading partners in Europe, are determined by both market share reallocation and within‐company productivity growth. Furthermore, we outline a structural methodology for estimating parameters of a production function linking the unobservable productivity to endogenous company‐level trade orientation, investment and exit decisions. This allows us to back out consistent and unbiased estimates of productivity dynamics by trade orientation of companies within four‐digit UK manufacturing industries using FAME data over the period 1994–2001. Our estimates of productivity dynamics indicate that improvements in aggregate productivity were mainly driven by market share reallocations away from inefficient and towards efficient exporting companies alongside productivity improvements within non‐exporting companies.     

Executive Stock Ownership After the Acquisition

How does a company, buying another company, replace the acquired company's executive stock options? This article details what companies are doing and examines the advantages and disadvantages of replacing these options. The authors propose that the success or failure of an acquisition can hinge on the resolution of these issues.     

The impact of culture on HRM styles and firm performance: evidence from Japanese parents,Japanese subsidiaries/joint ventures and South Asian local companies

This paper investigates national and organizational cultural influences among managers in three types of companies: Japanese companies in Japan, South Asian domestic companies and Japanese subsidiaries/joint ventures in South Asia. The findings suggest that a Japanese parent company's culture tends to have a much stronger influence with Japanese companies operating in Japan. Japanese parent company culture tends to have less influence than the South Asian national culture in shaping the HRM styles and practices in Japanese subsidiaries/joint ventures operating in South Asia. While some South Asian firms are in the initial stages of learning about participative HRM from foreign companies, most still tend to maintain their national culture and traditional ways in the operating systems of their organizations.     

Sustainable Production: Practices and Determinant Factors of Green Supply Chain Management of Chinese Companies

This paper explores the green supply chain management (GSCM) of companies based in the Yangtze River Delta, China. The companies' overall GSCM practice level (L_GSCM) is measured by using the data from 165 valid respondents in a questionnaire survey conducted during April and May 2009. The relationships between L_GSCM and the classified determinant factors are analyzed. It is indicated that Chinese companies are still at a preliminary stage of GSCM practices. Their environmental management in cooperation with external members of the supply chain is very marginal. A company's L_GSCM is significantly and positively associated with the external pressures from regulatory, domestic clients and business competitors. As an internal factor, a company's learning capacity greatly determines L_GSCM. We also confirm that the internal factors function as intermediate variables of external pressures in influencing a company's GSCM. A company's environmental management capacities will be strongly enhanced by frequent internal training of employees to increase its involvement in GSCM practices. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment.     

Environmental commitment and manufacturing excellence: a comparative study within Canadian industry

The development of an environmental policy represents the cornerstone of an environmental management system (EMS), an essential tool that helps companies both systematically manage their environmental obligations and risks, and promote these objectives throughout the entire organization. The implementation of such policies must rest not solely upon the development of specific pollution‐reduction programmes but also upon more encompassing issues dealing with the examination of existing management systems and work procedures. This paper presents the results of a study conducted in 250 manufacturing firms. It examines factors such as manufacturing policies and competitive positioning in their role as driving forces behind environmental commitment. The study's results demonstrate that environmental commitment is often linked to sound management practices. Good relations with both employees and suppliers, participatory management and total quality management programmes appear to be intimately correlated with the existence of an environmental policy. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. and ERP Environment     

Environmental issue management: towards a multi‐level theory of environmental management competence

The continuity and profitability of business firms are under constant threat from environmental issues – forthcoming developments in the environmental domain or involving environmental stakeholders that are likely to have an important impact on the ability of the enterprise to meet its objectives. Managers must forge responses to such issues, but must they respond in an ad hoc fashion to every issue or can they develop more coherent environmental management competences? Empirical evidence was collected from a case study of the environmental issue management practices of Unilever, one of the largest food and personal care companies in the world. This company's approach to dealing with the issue of genetically modified ingredients reveals that issue managers face a complex level‐of‐analysis problem when confronting environmental issues: how to translate individual‐level knowledge into organization‐level outcomes? The theory developed here suggests that once firms learn how to span this chasm, they are able not only to address discrete environmental issues, but also to build competitive environmental advantages through the development of integrative organizational competences. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment.     

Improving Electricity Market Price Forecasting with Factor Models for the Optimal Generation Bid

In liberalized electricity markets, the electricity generation companies usually manage their production by developing hourly bids that are sent to the day‐ahead market. As the prices at which the energy will be purchased are unknown until the end of the bidding process, forecasting of spot prices has become an essential element in electricity management strategies. In this article, we apply forecasting factor models to the market framework in Spain and Portugal and study their performance. Although their goodness of fit is similar to that of autoregressive integrated moving average models, they are easier to implement. The second part of the paper uses the spot‐price forecasting model to generate inputs for a stochastic programming model, which is then used to determine the company's optimal generation bid. The resulting optimal bidding curves are presented and analyzed in the context of the Iberian day‐ahead electricity market.