Investor Relations （IR） in Business Communication on the Example of Poland

This paper focuses on investor relations （IR） as an element of companies＇ communication with the external environment. It shows the place and role of IR in communication with the general market, and the stock exchange market in particular. The study is illustrated with an example of IR in Poland, a relatively new European Union （EU） member state and an emerging market. As can be seen, IR goes beyond the traditionally understood maintenance of communication with the capital market. It is also shown that the main role of IR ought to be the reduction of investment risk and enhancement of the companies＇ value, which is of particular significance in light of the current globalization of capital markets. It has been found that Polish companies, especially those listed on the Warsaw Securities Exchange （WSE）, commonly rely on IR as a means of communication with the environment. And yet, as the results of the analysis show, the quality of that communication is still far from satisfactory, despite efforts undertaken by various external entities to encourage more focus on the development of IR, or understanding of the company＇s relevant staff of its important role.     

Coping with coopetition—Facing dilemmas in cooperation for sustainable development: The case of the Dutch smart grid industry

This paper is amongst the first to examine coopetition strategy for sustainable development at the network level. Companies who want to successfully implement complex innovative technologies that support sustainable development need to collaborate with other actors of the innovation ecosystem, including their competitors, so that they can develop standards, interoperable products, pool knowledge, and resources and bundle forces to compete against other technologies. Collaboration with competitors brings benefits, but also many risks. We investigated how firms cope with these risks when establishing an innovation ecosystem to implement a new technology in society. We conducted research in the Dutch smart grids sector and explored how these firms minimize inherent risks of coopetition. We found that system‐building actors in the Dutch smart grid field not only minimize inherent risks, but from the start of their collaboration they implement so‐called enablers to prevent these risks upfront.     

Information and Communication Technologies and their Role in Urban Regeneration

The idea that information and communication technologies (ICT) can provide a means to regenerate deprived urban areas is still a relatively new concept in the United Kingdom. There is in fact little empirical evidence to demonstrate what actually happens when ICT projects are designed with regeneration in mind. A case study of ICT regeneration is examined here, one funded through the Single Regeneration Budget and operational in an urban area in the North East of England. What became apparent during this study is how the changing policy environment meant other types of ICT initiative came on-stream before the project could firmly establish a position within its community. The authors challenge the logic of this form of activity and demonstrate that even when there seems to be a need to support ICT-led development the sustainability of such projects is highly problematic.     

Demand for electric vehicles in hybrid households: an exploratory analysis

Previous studies of the potential market for battery electric vehicles (BEVs) from different research streams have failed to converge on a single, robust estimate. What these previous research streams share are untested or implausible assumptions about consumer response to new transportation technology. We frame the BEV purchase decision in terms of a household's entire stock of vehicles, car purchase behavior and travel behavior. Within this framework, households which own both electric vehicles and gasoline vehicles are called ‘hybrid households’. Because nearly all consumers are unfamiliar with the characteristics of BEVs, we designed an interactive interview based on week-long travel diaries, which we call Purchase Intentions and Range Estimation Games (PIREG) to explore hypothetical hybrid household vehicle use. Our primary finding is that consumers' perceived driving range needs are substantially lower than previous hypothetical stated preference studies conclude. We find evidence of a viable market for BEVs with 60 to 100 miles driving range.     

水务管理信息系统的研究与探讨--以陕西省铜川市王益区水务管理为例

运用系统分析和数据库技术对水务管理信息系统作出了实用的设计，且建立了完整的系统数据库，并把优化与模拟技术相结合，对其供需水量进行优化模拟，实现中小城市水务信息的输入、输出、查询、预测、优化调度等功能，为水资源的管理、利用提供合理、有效的工具。     

Strawberry fields forever? Conflict over neo-productivist Spanish polytunnel technology in British agriculture

This paper uses the example of Spanish polytunnels to demonstrate how the deployment of ‘neo-productivist’ agricultural technologies to meet the demands of food security and sustainability within a globalised food chain is likely to precipitate greater countryside conflict. Field-scale ‘Spanish polytunnels’ for strawberry growing have become a new feature of the British agricultural landscape. This has been driven primarily by supermarkets searching for high quality and quantity supplies of soft fruit. With production becoming industrialised, conflict has ensued in some rural communities where polytunnels have appeared. Interviews with prominent strawberry growers and protestors against polytunnels illuminate a vociferous and embittered wrangle. Within it, land use planners are labelled as ‘strawberry fools’ by both sides for failing, until recently, to provide decisive regulation to prevent conflict and effect its resolution. The paper concludes by drawing attention to the future characteristics of conflicts precipitated as new agricultural technologies are implemented rapidly, impact unevenly and are received acrimoniously.     

Interaction between crop insurance and technology adoption decisions: The case of wheat farmers in Chile

This paper examines relationships between crop insurance and input technology decisions among Chilean wheat farmers. Using nationwide farm‐level data, a bivariate probit model is estimated. We investigate the extent to which the adoption of production input technologies is associated with farmers’ participation in the insurance program. We find that relationships between insurance and technology decisions are significant only for family farmers. In particular, there is a negative relationship between participation in the insurance program and the adoption of modern irrigation. Interpretations based on the role of input technologies on insurance adoption and adverse selection behaviours are discussed.     

Dynamic decision and coordination in a low-carbon supply chain considering the retailer's social preference

We establish dynamic game models in a low-carbon supply chain consisting of a single manufacturer and a single retailer with social preference. This study investigates the complex dynamic characteristics of pricing decision and carbon abatement strategy in the supply chain and focuses on the impact of the retailer's social preference on pricing decision, carbon emission abatement strategy, profits, supply chain coordination, and complexity of dynamic models. We find that adjustment parameters of pricing and carbon emission abatement should be maintained in a certain range; otherwise, the system will be unstable and even chaotic through period double bifurcation or wave shape chaos. A higher social preference of the retailer is always beneficial to carbon abatement and the manufacturer and helps maintain the stability of the supply chain system. However, the impact on the long-term profitability of the supply chain is related to the state of the system. Compared with the setting of a centralized decision, the optimal carbon abatement strategy and supply chain profit in a decentralized decision are always less than those in a centralized setting, regardless of whether the retailer has social preference. Therefore, a side-payment self-executing contract is designed to coordinate the supply chain and achieve Pareto improvement. The coordination mechanism proposed in this study not only leads to Pareto improvement but also increases the stability of the supply chain system. Finally, this study enlightens management in operating a low-carbon supply chain.     

Technological innovation and knowledge network in Asia: Evidence from comparison of information and communication technologies among six countries

South Korea, Taiwan, Singapore, Hong Kong, China and India have become much larger force in the world economy. Due to the enormous contribution of the use of information and communication technologies (ICT) in economic growth, this study investigates four main issues related to technological innovation and knowledge network in ICT among six countries. First, indicators of technological innovation were evaluated and used to compare capability of technological innovation in ICT between the six countries. Secondly, differences in innovation configurations among six countries were manifested. Thirdly, relative innovation strengths of these six countries were examined in five sub-technological fields. Finally, this study consists of analyzing the interactions into knowledge network among them; moreover, this study manifests the difference of knowledge network in five sub-technological field of ICT. The empirical findings of this study, based on analysis of a patent and citation dataset comprised of all patents granted by the U.S. Patents and Trademark Office (USPTO) to assignees in six countries from 1976 to 2006, are helpful to understand the comparative development of technological innovation of ICT in six countries.     

论低碳经济发展视阈下的公共政策创新

在全球变暖及其所带来的一系列生态环境问题备受国际关注的时代背景下,低碳经济发展越来越受到各国政府的普遍重视。本文分别从能源安全政策、产业、财税政策、公共参与政策、人才政策以及消费政策五方面展开分析,在此基础上提出适合我国国情的低碳政策创新建议。