Green operations strategy of a luxury car manufacturer

This paper investigates the strategic environmental decisions of a luxury car manufacturer. Through case study research, the investigation sheds light on why and how the company is adopting green technologies. Being pressured by different stakeholders to become greener, luxury car manufacturers carry significant opportunities for environmental improvement given the nature of their manufacturing processes and products. Because of their low-volume production, manufacturers may be able to increase output and still reduce overall emissions when compared to high-volume manufacturers. In the case study company this was found to be possible only because of new ideas brought by a change in ownership. Luxury manufacturers may also be a test-bed for the development and experimentation of green technologies as part of a strategic approach to environmental initiatives. This paper contributes to the fields of green technology adoption and operations strategy in automotive manufacturing groups.     

Towards governance of human tissue engineered technologies in Europe: Framing the case for a new regulatory regime

The development of human tissue engineered technologies, located in the context of wider debates around the governance of biotechnology, raises important issues. This paper explores these issues by examining theoretical approaches to the regulation of risk, the limits of technical risk assessment and implications of scientific uncertainty in this area. We consider broader social concerns and how these shape contemporary debates relating to the sourcing and use of human tissue-engineered technologies. We examine the emergence of a new regulatory ‘regime’ in Europe and the social shaping of a regulatory space between medicinal products, medical devices and biologics where these innovative products may be situated. Reporting on recent policy initiatives and a survey of regulatory authorities in Europe, we analyse the ways in which public trust in these technologies may be engendered, providing insight into public participation in policy debate and relations between industry and the regulatory state at national and European levels.     

Social technology and economic development

The large gap between the best available technology and technology in use, especially in the less developed world, is primarily due to social and cultural factors that can only be changed by means of deliberately applied social technologies. Thus, conventional strategies for global population stabilization, economic development, and environmental improvement often put the cart before the horse.     

Logistic analysis of recent environmental interest

Progress in some fields has been shown to occur through a sequence of high-activity periods that often exhibit logistic growth patterns. Previously, this was demonstrated for local environmental issues during the U.S. Progressive Era through an analysis of environmental (aerial and water-borne) diseases. Later (1970s and 1980s), logistic growth trends in interest (articles and legislation) in national environmental concerns was demonstrated. Recently, environmental attention has included global issues resulting in several international environmental treaties that attempt to address the concerns. Logistic analysis is applied to the recent trends of interest in international environmental issues. This interest is measured at many levels: popular magazine articles, popular books, research-oriented books, and international treaties. There are indications that the elevated level of international environmental interest might have passed the midpoint, in the 1990s, of a 5-decade period. This recent period is compared with previously identified periods concerning local and national environmental issues. Possible reasons for the trends include the recent increasing rate and scope of technological development and the related, perhaps delayed social response. Potential future trends might indicate the relative rate of technological development and social resolution of its impacts. A possible leading indicator is the business and governance response to new technologies, like nanotechnology, which might be responsibly developed to mitigate previous environmental issues without introducing new unintended environmental consequences.     

Borders of Peace in Policy and Practice: National and Local Perspectives of Israel-Jordan Border Management

Border-management policies are designed to balance national interests of border control with the costs of monitored cross-border interaction. These policies, formulated by national authorities, are often based on constructed definitions and interests of national security rather than wider understandings of the components of human security. This is especially evident in post-conflict borders where local initiatives of economic, social and environmental cross-border interaction are posed to contribute to regional stability and security. This article analyzes civilian cross-border cooperation in the southern section of the Israel-Jordan border region, distinguishing between local and national perspectives regarding border management. Focusing mainly on Israel's policies the article demonstrates how despite the vision of good neighbourly relations and their potential contribution towards regional prosperity and stability, local cross-border initiatives have been inhibited in the name of national security. The case study demonstrates the mechanisms and ramifications of exclusive securitisation policies of post-conflict border management.     

Economic evaluation of healthcare technology improving the quality of social life: the case of assistive technology for the disabled and elderly

Public investments in healthcare technology for the disabled and elderly to improve the quality of social life have been vigorous, but the economic evaluation of the assistive technology is still lacking. Under this circumstance, the purpose of this study is to analyse the socio-economic value of developing assistive technologies with the potential to improve the quality of social life, especially for disabled and elderly individuals. Based on a survey of 400 respondents, the spike model, a special form of the contingent valuation method (CVM) is applied to assess the value of assistive technologies. In Korea, a household’s willingness-to-pay (WTP) for the development of assistive technologies is US$4.26 per year, on average, in the form of a government-levied tax; although many people express zero WTP for the development of these technologies, people with higher household savings, higher levels of education and higher levels of charity donations have a higher WTP for the development of assistive technology. We conclude that although assistive technologies have considerable economic value many people express zero WTP for the development of these technologies. Therefore, political and social educational efforts are necessary to reach social consensus on the government investment in such technologies.     

Multimedia mobile services with applications in environment

Increased public access to environmental information contributes to a greater awareness of environmental matters. However, there is no specific structure of public Environmental Information Systems (EIS) for institutions and other social partners to accomplish this goal. Multimedia has been largely used in EIS. Mobile services may play a new role within communicating multimedia environmental information in a citizenship framework. Furthermore, the use of mobile services may promote the development of Mobile Information Society (MIS). Hence, there are currently plenty of technologies to adopt in order to reach the public. This paper is focused on exploring whether Multimedia Mobile Services (MMS) can contribute to augmenting public environmental awareness. A platform of common mobile devices was successfully used to test mobile public access to environmental information in Portugal. This enabled the exploration of real environmental services in mobile contexts. Furthermore, an advanced interactive prototype was developed indoors to simulate a Location-Based Service (LBS) applied to coastal zones. Recommendations for future work are presented.     

Environmental Policy and the Direction of Technical Change

Should governments direct research and development (R&D) away from “dirty” technologies towards “clean” ones? How important is this compared to carbon pricing? We address these questions with the introduction of two model features to the literature on directed technological change and the environment. We introduce decreasing returns to R&D, and allow future carbon taxes to influence current R&D decisions. Our results suggest that governments should prioritize clean R&D. Dealing with major environmental problems requires an R&D shift towards clean technology. However, in the case where most researchers are working with clean technology, both productivity spillovers and the risks of future replacement increase. Consequently, the gap between the private and social values of an innovation is greatest for clean technologies.     

Motivation crowding in environmental protection: Evidence from an artefactual field experiment

This paper examines how motivation, crowding and social image affect environmental conservation decisions. An artefactual field experiment conducted in Bolivia is used to reproduce the trade-off between individual and social benefits in natural resource use and test the effect of non-monetary and non-regulatory incentives on pro-social behavior for environmental conservation. The results show the presence of a social norm prescribing positive contribution towards environmental protection, and that external incentives have heterogeneous effects on pro-social behavior depending on how they influence reputation and self-image. The experimental results differ from those of analogous experiments conducted in the laboratory, and are instead consistent with those from field experiments on common-pool resource management. This fact suggests caution in generalizing conclusions, reached in the laboratory, to different settings and populations.     

Growing green money? Mapping community currencies for sustainable development

Parallel sustainable monetary systems are being developed by civil society groups and non-governmental organisations (NGOs), informed by ecological economics perspectives on development, value, economic scale and growth, and responding to the unsustainability of current global financial systems. These parallel systems of exchange (or community currencies) are designed to promote sustainable development by localising economic development, building social capital and substituting for material consumption, valuing work which is marginalised in conventional labour markets, and challenging the growth-based monetary system. However, this international movement towards community-based ecological economic practices, is under-researched. This paper presents new empirical evidence from the first international study of the scope and character of community currencies. It identifies the diversity, scale, geography and development trajectory of these initiatives, discusses the implications of these findings for efforts to achieve sustainable development, and identifies future research needs, to help harness the sustainability potential of these initiatives.     

Managing technological and social uncertainties of innovation: The evolution of Brazilian energy and agriculture

This paper explores how technological, commercial and social uncertainties shaped the development of Brazilian biofuels. Technological innovation allowed the country to emerge as a global leader, but Brazil continues to struggle with major social uncertainties due to poverty and environmental concerns common in many emerging economies. Contemporary approaches to development within the innovation literature focus primarily on overcoming technological and commercial uncertainties, but only peripherally explore social uncertainties. To fill this void, we draw on Martin and Hall's framework for managing innovative uncertainties, which is based on Kuhn and Popper's approaches to the evolution and methodology of science, and extend it with Aldrich and Fiol's concept of cognitive versus socio-political legitimacy. Based on qualitative data collected in Brazil, we outline the evolution of automotive fuel ethanol and flex-fuel technology, the development of Brazilian soybean production, and castor for socially inclusive biodiesel production. We show how innovation solved some technological and commercial uncertainties and generated new opportunities, but also created additional social uncertainties that are now being addressed. Through this process, Brazil has acquired capabilities in alternative energy technologies and more sustainable agriculture, becoming an exemplar for other emerging economies. We conclude with implications for policy and industry.     

Adaptation processes in the context of climate change: a social and environmental psychology perspective

An informed multidisciplinary understanding of the ways in which people experience, appraise, adapt, and respond to global climate change is a prerequisite to effectively managing the transition to a sustainable economy. In this paper, we argue that climate science has to date failed to fully appreciate the contribution that social and environmental psychology can make to such an understanding. We draw on findings from two large national Australian surveys to demonstrate how this perspective can contribute to knowledge, understanding, and policy formulation. Central to this perspective are processes of psychological adaptation, that is, processes through which individuals orient towards, make sense of, and ultimately come to terms with, the threat and reality of climate change. Such adaptive processes are shown to mediate relationships between environmental experiences and behavior, and hence provide the foundation for environmentally-friendly lifestyles. Rather than assuming that external sanctions and incentives are sufficient to engender sustainable lifestyle changes, a social and environmental psychology approach recognises and explores the complexities of the transactions that occur between individuals’ internal and external environments, emphasizes the importance of intrinsic motivation and self-determination, and suggests the need for initiatives that promote behaviors that are both environmentally and psychologically significant.     

Bad Eggs,Learning-by-doing,and the Choice of Technology

We model long-run economic development through technology adoption under scientific uncertainty about environmental effects. There are four possible long-run equilibria in a socially planned economy: ‘High-growth’, adopt rapidly, but abandon damaging technologies once revealed (DDT, CFCs); ‘Cautious’, brake the introduction of new technologies to avoid mistakes (genetically modified organisms); ‘No-growth’, halt technological progress to preserve secondary knowledge; and ‘Collapse’, adopt rapidly without ever abandoning damaging technologies. In the base parameterization a short-sighted social planner chooses the cautious strategy. A far-sighted planner chooses the high-growth strategy, unless damages are irreversible in which case the cautious strategy again dominates. Regulatory options in the market economy are investigated. Pollution taxes do not affect the firm’s level of precaution if they can only be applied after the adopting firm has reaped the benefits; however, they do encourage the abandonment of damaging technologies. Liability rules do affect precaution, but may lead to excessive caution, or even a no-growth trap.     

COMMUNITY HOMOGENEITY AND REVEALED PREFERENCES FOR ENVIRONMENTAL GOODS

This paper examines the links between community homogeneity and the demand for environmental quality. Using data from California, this paper shows that communities that are more homogeneous in terms of race and educational attainment are more likely to support the public provision of environmental goods, after controlling for political ideology, voter turnout, and the distribution of benefits and costs across communities. The models also reveal nonmonotonic relationships between racial and social groups and support for the public provision of environmental amenities. Support for environmental initiatives in a community typically increases at an increasing rate the greater the concentration of Whites. On the other hand, support generally increases at a decreasing rate the greater the share of African Americans and Asians in the population. Results for a proposal that would have imposed a tax on oil extraction to fund alternative energy projects suggest a different pattern of nonlinear associations. (JEL D72, H42, Q51, Q58)     

纽约州支持电动汽车发展的政策举措及其启示

纽约州将电动汽车产业发展作为打造创新经济的先行产业,自2011年以来,推出了一系列系统性的政策举措,包括加强与加快可再生能源特别是太阳能的发展,资助先进储能技术,支持建设纳米级锂硫电池材料制造中心,启动"充电纽约"、"卡车券计划"和纽约绿色银行计划等,使纽约州的电动汽车产业发展和推广在美国处于领先水平。总结纽约州支持发展电动汽车的经验,得出4点启示:一是顶层设计,系统筹划,善于利用与开发本地优势;二是政府组织设立示范项目,引导企业参与投入;三是普适与专项激励政策并举;四是发展目标法律化与阶段化相结合。     

Organisational change and the productivity effects of green technology adoption

This study investigates induced productivity effects of firms introducing new environmental technologies. The literature on within-firm organisational change and productivity suggests that firms can achieve higher productivity gains from adopting new technologies if they adapt their organisational structures. Such complementarity effects may be of particular importance for the adoption of greenhouse gas (GHG) abatement technologies. The adoption of these technologies is often induced by public authorities to limit the social costs of climate change, whereas the private returns are much less obvious. This study finds empirical support for complementarity between green technology adoption (either CO₂-reducing or resources and energy efficiency-enhancing technologies) and organisational change. While the sole adoption of green technologies is associated with lower productivity, the simultaneous implementation of green technologies and organisational innovations is not.     

试论研究环境问题的三种理论框架

本文认为,对环境问题的理论研究大致分三种脉络:外部性与社会福利、公地的悲剧与环境产权、物质平衡模型与可持续发展规划。依据这三种理论框架,解决环境问题的对策措施需要同时从市场机制建设、人类社会发展目标确定与技术途径三个方面展开。     

Social capital and social economics

The “discovery” of social capital in the early 1990s led to an upsurge of research into the economic impact of social cohesion and governmental effectiveness. This paper outlines key developments in the social capital literature over the past 13 years. It then examines theory and evidence of the links between social cohesion, quality of governance, economic performance and human welfare. The literature indicates that social capital makes a measurable contribution to economic development and overall wellbeing, particularly in developing countries. Partly in response to this emerging body of evidence, there has been increased interest in the application of community development principles to economic development initiatives. This paper argues that the advent of social capital theory represents a partial convergence between social economics and mainstream economics, and signifies an increased acceptance that economic activity cannot be meaningfully “disembedded” from social and political context.     

Social Licence in Design: Constructive technology assessment within a mineral research and development institution

Technological innovation in the minerals industry must be driven by the need to improve performance according to social, as well as environmental, safety, efficiency and production criteria. This paper outlines the possibilities and rationale for incorporating constructive technology assessment (CTA) into technology research and development within the Australian Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) Minerals Down Under National Research Flagship (MDU). MDU represents an $80 million per year investment in transformational mineral technology. The paper reports on the development of a process called Social Licence in Design to address the future social challenges and opportunities of the technologies that may arise during implementation. Social Licence in Design utilises social research techniques to account for the perspectives and values of decision makers and likely stakeholders. Interviews with senior technologists and social scientists within MDU reveal the institutional context into which the Social Licence in Design process is to be situated and highlight key factors that may inhibit or enhance its uptake. Despite the long history of CTA the paper is the first to report on the incorporation of a CTA process to address the social implications of technology development within a mineral R&D institution.     

How governments seek to bridge the financing gap for university spin-offs: proof-of-concept,pre-seed,and seed funding

University spin-offs often develop early-stage technologies characterised by long development paths and uncertain commercial potential. Private financiers, such as banks, informal investors, and venture capital firms, are reluctant to invest in these ventures at an early stage. To bridge this financing gap, governments have set up specialised programmes, but few studies have examined the rationale and organisation of different types of programmes. We analyse government schemes in six countries and identify three main categories of funding initiatives. Proof-of-concept (PoC) schemes aim to reduce the technological uncertainty. Pre-seed schemes aim to reduce the organisational uncertainty and make the nascent venture attractive to investors. Seed funding schemes provide early-stage equity financing. The seed funding initiatives seek to improve the supply of funding, while there seems to be an increasing number of pre-seed and PoC schemes seeking to bridge the financing gap from the demand-side by increasing the attractiveness of the spin-offs towards investors.