Public Sector Organizations and Cocreation With Citizens: A Literature Review on Benefits,Drivers, and Barriers

ABSTRACT

Cocreation has captured the attention of public managers and policymakers and yet the literature focusing in the public sector is still relatively dispersed. In this literature review we present a contextualized analysis of the potential reasons that lead public sector organizations to cocreate with citizens and identify potential barriers that may hamper the adoption of cocreation in public settings. The analysis undertaken allowed us to conclude that the topic is increasingly capturing the interest of researchers, although the state of the literature is characterized by a reduced heterogeneity in research methods. We classified cocreation benefits in the public sector as innovation related, improved decision-making, and symbolic related, and we categorized the drivers for cocreation according to three broad categories: external, relation-specific and internal. Finally, we identified potential barriers of cocreation, including structural, organizational, and behavioral barriers.     

A single currency for the Economic Community of West Africa? An economic assessment

This paper assesses the economic support for the creation of an Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) monetary union encompassing all its 15 members, an objective that was set more than 30 years ago. In line with previous empirical research, our conclusion is that the adoption of a common currency by the whole region is not recommended. This work takes a step forward and assesses alternative ways to reduce the current number of currencies in circulation in the Community. Based on our results, we suggest (i) the merging of the currencies of Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone into a single currency and (ii) the Gambia to join the West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU).     

Interplay between ethanol and electric vehicles as low carbon mobility options for passengers in the municipality of São Paulo

The Brazilian cities as well as many of the large urban centers in the world continue to expand, increasing the demand for mobility and transport, while, at the same time, the same cities are investing in greenhouse gas (GHG) mitigation to avoid climate change. Brazil's urbanization rate increased from 26% in 1940 to almost 70% in 1980. During this period, the Brazilian population tripled and the urban population multiplied by seven. In 2010, the transport sector in São Paulo accounted for 71% of the total emissions released by the energy sector. Ethanol has been considered a fuel with less greenhouse gas emissions, when compared with fossil fuels. However, ethanol production would have to double to meet the expected demand. Electric vehicles (EVs) market is expanding around the world, and is also an option to reduce the transport emissions, if powered by clean electricity. To assess whether the adoption of EVs might bring more benefits than the current ethanol, we develop prospective scenarios supported by the Long-range Energy Alternatives Planning (LEAP) simulation tool, taking a bottom-up tank-to-wheel approach to consider the CO₂ emissions of car in São Paulo. The scenario considering a substitution of 25% of gasoline-powered cars by EV in 2030 showed a reduction in energy consumption and CO₂ emissions, around 15% and 26% respectively in that year in comparison with 2015. We discuss the interplay between ethanol and EV, also considering emission coefficients from life cycle analysis conducted in Brazil, and concluded EV will have higher positive impact on climate change mitigation than ethanol.     

Interaction processes in long-term relationships in the metal mining industry: Longitudinal case studies of capital equipment buying

This study investigates the development of the relationships between customers and suppliers of capital equipment in the mining industry. The interorganizational relationships were characterized along three sets of variables: context, task characteristics, and interaction processes. Longitudinal case study research was conducted, and four long-term relationships in the Portuguese metal mining industry were investigated. The domesticated nature of the market, compatibility of partners' objectives and strategies, and the choice of a direct channel are significant driving forces for the establishment and development of these relationships. Well-driven interaction processes were found determinant to relationship development and outcomes. Particularly, the extent of supplier-based adaptations and scope of after-sales agreements are core to relationship development and continuity.     

‘We Live on Estimates': Everyday Practices of Prepaid Electricity and the Urban Condition in Maputo,Mozambique

This article examines the transition to prepaid electricity happening in Maputo, Mozambique, in order to reflect on the contemporary geographies of urban energy infrastructure and urbanization in sub‐Saharan Africa and other cities of the South. The article draws on fieldwork and archival research conducted in 2013 and 2014, arguing that prepayment constitutes a productive juncture in the urban experience of electricity infrastructure in Maputo's postcolonial moment, not merely a neutral technology or a disciplining technique of government (as argued by some scholarship). The article examines the multiple rationalities implicated in the use of the electricity infrastructure via prepayment and the organization of urban life it engenders (and of which it is also a product) by focusing on the everyday practices surrounding prepaid electricity of urban dwellers in neighbourhoods where the ‘modern infrastructural ideal' may never be fully realized. As a result, it contributes to an understanding of the experience of urban energy in cities where ‘slum urbanism', uncertainty and provisionality are dominant aspects of the urban condition.     

Metropolitan land-change science: A framework for research on tropical and subtropical forest recovery in city-regions

In efforts to promote transitions to sustainability in city-regions, government and nongovernment actors throughout the world are devising comprehensive sustainability strategies and implementing a variety of environmental policies. Social actors in many city-regions view forest stewardship as an important element of this integrated approach. Generally, urban sustainability goals are guided by the principles of ecological integrity, environmental quality, social equity, social inclusion, and social justice. In other words, sustainable urban development should foster a good quality of life for all by providing equitable access to adequate economic opportunity, housing, education, public services, ecosystem services, and environmental amenities. Governance structures should pursue these goals democratically with legitimacy, transparency, and accountability. Effective sustainability planning and management depend on the reliability of land-use monitoring and modeling approaches. They also require field-based, qualitative empirical research to understand the complex social dynamics that are invisible from space. The aim of this paper is to encourage international, cross-disciplinary dialogue on the conceptual, theoretical, methodological, and practical groundwork necessary to effectively carry out metropolitan land-change science, particularly for rapidly expanding small- and medium-sized cities in developing countries. I begin by presenting the paper's central conceptual and theoretical framework. Next, I explore existing analytical and methodological approaches to the study of land-use dynamics in metropolitan regions. After a brief discussion of specific opportunities and challenges for collaborative, interdisciplinary research in support of metropolitan land-change science, I conclude by proposing a four-part agenda for coordinated investigation of tropical and subtropical forest recovery in city-regions worldwide.     

Turbulence in growing and declining industries

Turbulence over the industry life cycle is examined for the case of Portugal using the lowest possible level of industry aggregation, thus allowing for the use of panel data to study the evolution of product markets. Replacement of exiting firms by subsequent entrants plays a primary role in generating turbulence in high growth markets, while displacement of incumbents by recent entrants is the main selection force in declining markets. As the industry life cycle progresses, trial-and-error entry and entry mistakes decrease, and turbulence subsides.     

OPTIONS AND EFFICIENCY IN MULTIDATE SECURITY MARKETS

This paper extends the work of Ross (1976; Q. J. Econ. (90)1, 75–89) to multidate security markets. First, we show that if a primitive security separates states at the terminal date, then there exist multiperiod European options on that security generating dynamically complete markets. Second, we show that if a primitive security conditionally separates states at the terminal date, then there exist multiperiod European options on that security generating generically dynamically complete markets provided that certain conditions hold. Third, we show that there are economies for which the minimum number of multiperiod European options on a primitive security generating generically dynamically complete markets is relatively large. Finally, we show that in these economies, a relatively small number of multiperiod European options on possibly different portfolio strategies of primitive securities generates generically dynamically complete markets.     

On the Non-Existence of Redundant Options

In a seminal paper, Ross (Q J Econ 90:75–89, 1976) shows that if security markets are resolving, then there exist (non-redundant) options that generate complete security markets. Complementing his work, Aliprantis and Tourky (2002) show that if security markets are strongly resolving and the number of primitive securities is less than half the number of states, then every option is non-redundant. Our paper extends Aliprantis and Tourky’s result to the case when their condition on the number of primitive securities is not imposed. Specifically, we show that if there exists no binary payoff vector in the asset span, then for each portfolio there exists a set of exercise prices of full measure such that any option on the portfolio with an exercise price in this set is non-redundant. Since the condition that there exists no binary payoff vector in the asset span holds generically, redundant options are thus rare. I am grateful to an anonymous referee for very helpful comments. Research support from the School of Business at The George Washington University is gratefully acknowledged     

Does the Basle Capital Accord reduce bank fragility? An assessment of the value-at-risk approach

We examine the economic implications arising from a bank using a VaR-constrained mean-variance model for the selection of its trading portfolio as a consequence of the Basle Capital Accord. Surprisingly, we show that when a VaR constraint is imposed, it is plausible that certain banks will end up selecting ‘riskier’ portfolios than they would have chosen in the absence of the constraint. Accordingly, regulators such as the Basle Committee on Banking Supervision should be aware that allowing a bank to use VaR to determine its minimum regulatory capital may increase its fragility. Alternatives to VaR-based bank capital regulation that mitigate or even preclude its perverse implications are presented.