Реструктуризація ринку електроенергії в контексті трансформаційних процесів і ціноутворення

The study introduces several most significant empirical and analytical findings covering the issue of electricity restructuring. In this regard, it detailes the dataset on electricity framework in order to investigate tendencies and the main challenges in the market structure following the regulation and deregulation processes of the electricity sector, as well as the consequences for pricing. The purpose of the study is to analyze key aspects of the restructuring of electric energy markets in order to determine the main challenges related to justification of the optimal structure of the industry with this framework, as well as to establish the dependence between reforms, structural transformations and price volatility in the energy market. It should be noted that deregulation and restructuring of energy companies have been determined by the transition to competitive relations and made it possible to solve significant problems in different fields of activity, including tariffs, participants’ interests, energy efficiency, etc. Consequently, reforming of the energy market structural components should be comprehensively implemented, in order to avoid fragmentary imbalances and the impact of price distortions on the participants of the electricity market.Дослідження спрямовано на формування ключових практичних і аналітичних висновків, що стосуються проблем реструктуризації електроенергетики. Для цього виявлено найбільш значущі структурні особливості функціонування електроенергетичного ринку, що дозволило висвітлити деякі існуючі тенденції і основні проблеми в структурі енергоринку, пов'язані з процесами регулювання і дерегулювання, а також проаналізувати вплив трансформаційних процесів на встановлення цін на електроенергію, на прикладі ринку електричної енергії України, що перебуває у стадії реформування. Результати дослідження отримані із застосуванням методів порівняння, ретроспективного і аналізу, методів узагальнення і систематизації, а також методів кореляційного і регресійного аналізу. Проведений аналіз предмета дослідження дозволяє зробити висновок, що дерегулювання і реструктуризація енергетичних компаній були визначені в якості переходу до конкурентних відносин і дозволили вирішити значні проблеми в різних сферах господарювання. Отже, реформа структурних складових енергоринку має здійснюватися комплексно, для уникнення фрагментарних диспропорцій і впливу цінових спотворень для функціонування учасників ринку електроенергії

Disaggregated Approaches to Freight Analysis: A Feasibility Study.

Forecasting the demand for freight transport is notoriously difficult. Although ever more advanced modelling techniques are becoming available, there is little data available for calibration. Compared to passenger travel, there are many fewer decision makers in freight, especially for the main bulk commodities, so the decisions of a relatively small number of principal players greatly influence the outcome. Moreover, freight comes in various shapes, sizes and physical states, which require different handling methods and suit the various modes (and sub-modes) of transport differently. In the face of these difficulties, present DTp practice is to forecast Britain's freight traffic using a very simple aggregate approach which assumes that tonne kilometres will rise in proportion to GDP. Although this simple model fits historical data quite well, there is a clear danger that this relationship will not hold good in the future. The relationship between tonne kilometres and GDP depends on the mix of products produced, their value to weight ratios, number of times lifted and lengths of haul. In the past, a declining ratio of tonnes to GDP has been offset by increasing lengths of haul. This has come about through a complicated set of changes in product mix, industrial structure and distribution systems. A more disaggregate approach which studies changes in all these factors by industrial sector seems likely to provide a better understanding of the relationship between tonne kilometres and GDP. However, there are also problems with disaggregation. As we disaggregate we get more understanding of what might change in the future, but are less able to project trends forward. This can be seen if we consider the future amounts of coal movements. Theoretically there is clearly scope for better forecasting by allowing for past trends to be overturned by a movement towards gas powered electricity generation and more imports of coal direct to coastal power stations. However, making such a sectoral forecast is extremely difficult, and inaccuracy here may more than offset the theoretical gain referred to earlier. This is because it is usually easier to forecast to a given percentage accuracy an aggregate rather than its components. For example, the percentage error on sales forecasts of Hotpoint washing machines will be greater than that for the sales of all washing machines taken together. This occurs because different makes of washing machines are substitutes for each other, so forecasts for Hotpoint washing machines must take into account uncertainty over Hotpoint's market share as well as uncertainty over the future total sales of washing machines. Nevertheless, a disaggregate investigation of the market could spot trends which were `buried' in the aggregate figures. For example, rapidly declining sales for one manufacturer might indicate their leaving the market, which with less competition would then price up and so reduce the total future sales. We have assumed above that the use of the term disaggregate in the brief refers to disaggregation by industrial sector. An alternative usage of the word disaggregate in this context is when referring to modelling at the level of the individual decision making unit. Disaggregate freight modelling in this sense would involve analysing decisions in order to determine the utility weight attached to different attributes of available transport options. Because data on suitable decisions is not readily available in this country, due to commercial confidentiality, we have recently undertaken research in which we have presented decision makers with hypothetical choices, and obtained the necessary utility weights from their responses. Whilst initial scepticism is understandable, this method has produced results acceptable for use in major projects. ITS itself has provided algorithms (known as Leeds Adaptive Stated Preference) which have been used to derive utility weights for use by British Rail in forecasting cross-channel freight, by DTp in evaluating the reaction of commercial vehicles to toll roads, and by the Dutch Ministry of Transport in modelling freight in the Netherlands. In the light of the above, the following objectives were set for the feasibility study: (1)To determine if a forecasting approach disaggregated by industrial sectors, as under the first definition above, can be used to explain recent trends in freight transport; (2)To test the feasibility of the disaggregated approach for improving the understanding of likely future developments in freight markets, this being informed by current best understanding of the disaggregate decision-making process as under the second definition above

ANALYZING A REGION'S ECONOMIC BASE

Community/Rural/Urban Development,

The Drivers and Implications of Business Exit – An Application and Extension of Prior Findings

The purpose of this study is to extend the current understanding of business divestiture by investigating its potential for triggering strategic reorientation. A divestiture involving strategic reorientation is here denoted as a strategic business exit, otherwise it is a status quopreserving business exit. The motives for divestiture specified in prior studies are mainly associated with firm financial performance and corporate strategy. Most studies investigate their impact on divestiture separately though both may interact. This study contributes to research by, first, distinguishing divestiture types, and, second, empirically testing the influence of performance and strategy both separately and in conjunction on the choice between strategic and status quo-preserving business exit with secondary data on 213 divestitures during 1999-2004 which were undertaken by a cross-industry sample of 91 firms listed in the German CDAX. The findings mainly indicate that firm financial performance is a stronger predictor of strategic business exit than corporate strategy

Issues and Options for Restructuring Electricity Supply Industries

The electricity supply industry is highly capital-intensive, whose success depends critically upon the management of its investment. In most developing countries investment is poorly managed, poorly maintained, and often inadequate. Inadequate regulation or political control lead to low prices that undermine the finance of investment and give poor incentives for management and operation. The paper argues that regulation must be carefully designed to provide efficient incentives and adequate guarantees to sustain investment and operations and only then will privatisation improve performance and benefit consumers. The paper discusses the evidence for these claims, the circumstances required for full unbundling and liberalisation to be successful, and those where the Single Buyer Model or continued, ideally reformed, state ownership, may be preferable, at least until conditions improve

Impact of Digital Revolution on the Structure of Nigerian Banks

The study examined the extent to which digital revolution has affected the organizational structure of Nigerian banks. Twenty-five banks were selected for the study in south-western Nigeria. Interview was conducted for middle and top level managers and questionnaire was developed and administered to the other staff using a five-point Likert scale to determine the attitudes and opinions of the staff on the effects of digital revolution on the organizational structure of the banks. The mean was used as an indicator of central tendency for quantitative variables that have frequency distributions in the study. The study found that standard operating procedures, politics, culture, surrounding environment and management decisions were all affected by digital revolution. It affected the organizational balance of rights, privileges, obligations, responsibilities, and feelings that have been established over a long period of time. The revolution brought structural changes in the line and unit of command, the principles of span of control, unity of command, and scalar principle of graded chain of superiors in the studied banks. It encouraged flat organizations as decision making became more decentralized. It also altered the required skill and increased the perceived advantage of workers with computer engineering background. Authority relied on knowledge and competence and not on mere formal position The study concluded that digital revolution has changed the course of history in the banking industry leaving far reaching effects and implications on both the organizational and industrial structure. It is imperative for banks and their staff to effect proper restructuring that will facilitate optimal utilization of the benefits provided by the revolution.Digital Revolution, ICT, e-Commerce, Organizational Structure, Nigerian Banks

A content and comparative analysis of strategic management research in the Baltic area

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to provide a research agenda for qualitative studies in the field of strategic management (SM) in the Baltic area. Design/methodology/approach – A total of 167 SM-related articles in this area between 2000 and 2013 were found. The content within title, abstract and authors’ keywords was analysed by means of a multiple correspondence analysis based on the HOMALS technique. Findings – The intellectual structure of SM in the Baltic area is to some extent similar to the global structure of the field. Hence research on this topic in the Baltic area is well integrated in the field. Three topics of interest have been identified while the fourth seems to offer more limited opportunities for qualitative studies. These are: entry and competition; strategic behaviour and the micro-foundations of strategy; the growth-performance relationship; and global strategies. Research limitations/implications – Despite the modest number of articles in our sample, the findings are consistent with past research on the structure of the SM field. The classification of articles into qualitative- and quantitative-based methods helped provide a research agenda. Practical implications – SM scholars in the Baltic area may find this paper as an interesting input to their quest for finding and justifying their own research path. Originality/value – This is an original literature review. The use of a quantitative method in the literature review and the suggested matrix is a second original contribution to evolving methodologies for content analysis. The method allows the inclusion of large samples while limiting the use of scholars’ intuition. </jats:sec

Issues and Options for Restructuring Electricity Supply Industries

The electricity supply industry is highly capital-intensive, whose success depends critically upon the management of its investment. In most developing countries investment is poorly managed, poorly maintained, and often inadequate. Inadequate regulation or political control lead to low prices that undermine the finance of investment and give poor incentives for management and operation. The paper argues that regulation must be carefully designed to provide efficient incentives and adequate guarantees to sustain investment and operations and only then will privatisation improve performance and benefit consumers. The paper discusses the evidence for these claims, the circumstances required for full unbundling and liberalisation to be successful, and those where the Single Buyer Model or continued, ideally reformed, state ownership, may be preferable, at least until conditions improve.Electricity, reform, restructuring, regulation, developing countries

Entrepreneurial Developments and Challenges in the Sud Muntenia Region of Romania

Entrepreneurship is crucial for the economic development of a region. Using entropy, cluster and shift-share analysis techniques, the authors present a detailed picture of the entrepreneurial milieu of the Sud Muntenia region of Romania, pointing both towards the presence of an overall development process, and also to inter-county and intra-county sectoral imbalances, evolutionary discrepancies and lack of adequate use of territorial resources. Policy recommendations are proposed to address the future challenges for the balanced development of the Sud Muntenia region of Romania. Keywords: entrepreneurship, territorial development, regional business demography, sectoral structure, regional policy JEL Classification: O18, R11, R12, R30

“Corporate restructuring issues under the holding company structure – The NTT Case in Japan”

ABSTRACT This research paper focused on the corporate restructuring of Nippon Telegraph Telecommunication (NTT Group) under the pure holding company structure in 1999 and its implications. In order to understand the holding company structure, we introduced the concept of "internal capital markets" and explained its application within the framework of NTT Group. Next, we gave an account of the background events leading to NTT Group's corporate restructuring in order to understand the reason for choosing and keeping the holding company structure. Our research methodologies include interviews with NTT Group's management and data from public sources. Finally, to analyze the effect of the holding company structure to NTT Group, we conducted a hypothetical valuation analysis using the free cash flow model. Comparing the market value of NTT Group with our valuation results, it appeared that the market has undervalued NTT Group. We concluded our report with some suggestions on how NTT Group might be able to increase their market value.HOLDING COMPANY STRUCTURE, RESTRUCTURING, INTERNAL CAPITAL MARKET, VALUATION