Beitrag von technologischen und strukturellen Veränderungen im Energiesystem der EU-27 zur Erreichung ambitionierter Klimaschutzziele

To stabilise the concentration of GHG (Greenhouse gases) in the atmosphere to a level of 450ppm (parts per million), a strong climate policy in the EU-27 will be required. The target is achievable through a 71% reduction of GHG emissions from 1990 emission levels by the year 2050. With the regionalised Pan-European TIMES energy system model, the role of technologies with regard to efficiency improvement, fuel switching and energy saving measures will be analysed under such an emission reduction target. The Pan-European TIMES model illustrates in detail the whole energy system of the different member states of the EU-27 plus Iceland, Norway and Switzerland. The limited resource and import potentials of different energy carriers, the competition of the use of energy carriers among different sectors and the country specific differences in energy demand will be taken into account. The results show that the energy consumption of the EU is influenced rather by political targets and positions related to climate protection, security of supply and the use of nuclear energy than by the available technological options. Under a climate protection scenario with restricted use of nuclear energy, the most commonly used options are to increase the use of renewable energy in all sectors, produce electricity in combination with carbon capture and storage (CCS) and to increase the use of electricity over other fuel sources in the demand sectors. Furthermore, technological improvements will be required throughout the entire energy system if political targets are to be successfully realised.     

Multiobjective optimization of asphalt pavement design and maintenance decisions based on sustainability principles and mechanistic-empirical pavement analysis

Highway pavement as an important component of transport infrastructure has significant impacts on economy, society, and environment. The management of highway pavement has been traditionally focused on economy. In this study, the impacts of management decisions are examined in three dimensions, including life-cycle cost (LCC), energy consumption, and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Quantitative models to predict the three dimensions are developed from mechanistic-empirical pavement analysis results. Two decision variables, pavement thickness and threshold roughness level for pavement resurfacing, are found to be significant in affecting the three dimensions. These two variables are subsequently used as decision variables in multiobjective optimization. The ranges of decisions that result in minimum LCC, energy consumption, and GHG emissions are identified through multiobjective optimization. Although the analysis is illustrated in the context of pavement design and management in Hong Kong, the analysis techniques and procedures can be easily applied in other regions.     

What is a fair amount of executive compensation? Outrage potential of two key stakeholder groups

The public discussion of executive compensation often centres on ‘fair’ and ‘unfair’ amounts and the public outrage over compensation that is deemed too high. The academic literature states that such outrage can lead to outrage costs, pressuring firms to adjust compensation levels. However, it is unclear what a ‘fair’ compensation is for various stakeholders and how their fairness concerns relate to outrage constraints. Based on surveys among two key stakeholder groups (representative eligible voters and investment professionals), we provide evidence that fairness is an important criterion for both groups but that opinions on how large a fair compensation amount should be are widely dispersed. Moreover, personality traits systematically influence fairness opinions through self‐serving interpretations of distributive justice and personal risk attitudes, indicating that a ‘fair’ amount of executive compensation may strongly depend on the involved stakeholders. Investigating thresholds for outrage, i.e., amounts above which compensation is judged ‘unfairly’ high, we show that even though investment professionals care for fairness as well, ‘capital market outrage’ might not equate to ‘public outrage’. Our paper contributes to the literature on outrage constraints by linking individual fairness concerns to outrage potential and has implications for transparency of executive compensation and research on shareholder activism.     

A design-led conceptual framework for developing school integrated STEM programs: the Australian context

International Journal of Technology and Design Education - Integrated Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) education is recognised as the latest development stage on the pathway...     

When Do Firms Adjust Bonus Targets Intrayear? Evidence from Sales Executives' Targets*

This study investigates when and why intrayear bonus target revisions occur. This is important as intrayear target revisions occur regularly in practice but are not well understood. Specifically, we analyze two potential drivers of intrayear bonus target revisions: reduced managerial incentives owing to managers dropping out of the incentive zone of their piecewise defined bonus function and potential spillovers from planning target revisions that reflect changes in performance expectations during the year. We also investigate the effects of organizational characteristics on intrayear bonus target revisions. Using data collected from sales executives via multiple waves of surveys, we find evidence for both predicted drivers. In addition, consistent with our predictions, we find that the levels of delegated decision authority, intrafirm interdependencies, and information asymmetry negatively moderate the positive association between reduced managerial incentives and revision likelihood. Our paper contributes to the target setting literature by being the first study to investigate intrayear bonus target revisions and shed light on when firms commit to not revising such targets intrayear.     

Trading and liquidity in the catastrophe bond market

We provide first insights into secondary market trading, liquidity determinants, and the liquidity premium of catastrophe bonds. Based on transaction data from TRACE (Trade Reporting and Compliance Engine), we find that cat bonds are traded less frequently during the hurricane season and more often close to maturity. Trading activity indicates that the market is dominated by brokers without a proprietary inventory. Liquidity is high in periods of high trading activity in the overall market and for bonds with low default risk or close to maturity, which results from lower order processing costs. Finally, using realized bid–ask spreads as a liquidity measure, we find that on average, 21% of the observable yield spread on the cat bond market is attributable to the liquidity premium, with a magnitude of up to 141 bps for high-risk bonds.     

Sentimental Sustainability: Does What Companies Say Tell More Than What Companies Do?

Based on a sample of more than eleven thousand unique 10-K reports of US companies filed with SEC in period 2013 to 2018, this study examines the relationship between actual sustainability performance of companies, evaluated by MSCI ESG performance scores, and the extent and the scope of environmental, social, and governance information disclosure in their annual reports. The study shows empirical evidence supporting the signalling theory view of voluntary disclosure of ESG information in annual reports for most industries, while environmentally unfriendly companies belonging to the Mining industry division show excessive reporting behavior favoring environmental topics, which is consistent with incentives to improve public image and mitigate social, political, and legal risks in line with the legitimacy theory of information disclosure. When differentiating between forward-looking and non-forward-looking ESG statements, the study shows that companies providing more forward-looking ESG information in annual reports show better next-year ESG performance. This study implements established content analysis techniques with focus on ESG reporting and performance, building up on the study of Baier, Berninger, and Kiesel (2020) that proposed an ESG-tailored dictionary for textual analysis purposes.     

Social preferences and sales performance

We use an incentivized experimental game to uncover heterogeneity in social preferences among salespeople in a large Austrian retail chain. Our results show that the majority of agents take the welfare of others into account but a significant fraction reveal selfish behavior. Matching individual behavior in the game with firm data on sales performance shows that agents with social preferences achieve a significantly higher revenue per customer. However, at the same time, they achieve fewer sales per day. Both effects offset each other, so that the overall association with total sales revenue becomes insignificant. Our findings highlight the nuanced role of selfish versus social preferences in sales contexts with important implications for economic research.     

Predators in the web of life: World ecology of historical human–wolf relations in Finland

To better understand current conflicts related to human–wolf interactions in Finland, this article undertakes a longue-durée examination of societal structural transformations and how they have influenced ways of relating to nature in the country. Through a world-ecological perspective, we weave together a historical review and results of ethnographic fieldwork to explain how and why human–wolf relations in Finland transformed from indifferent coexistence to purposeful eradication in the late 19th century and ultimately to contemporary contested protection. We argue that the nature-making capacities of capitalist development are an integral part of the historical circumstances that led to the eradication of wolves, which was not only the result of animosity towards wolves but also fuelled by the interests of elite hunters. The resulting negative perceptions, coupled with changes in practices and landscapes during the wolf-less era, are central in current contestations, illustrating the deep ideological, emotional, and practical nature relations that capitalism creates.     

Perceiving Control over the Exchange on Peer-to-Peer Platforms: Measurement and Effects in the Second-Hand Market

Marketing Letters - While the emergence of peer-to-peer (P2P) platforms has revolutionized the way people exchange goods, these platforms face the need to provide appealing products offered by...