Green shipping networks as drivers of decarbonization in offshore shipping companies

Within the next 30 years, shipping companies must find their zero-emissions route. However, there is no consensus on which technologies and fuels are the most appropriate to decarbonize shipping. Shipping companies are now navigating the flows of trends and new technologies and fuels. At the same time, the “cluster trend” raises expectations that “green networks,” “green clusters” and “cleantech clusters” will aid sustainability transitions. This qualitative multiple case study of three Norwegian offshore shipping companies analyzes the drivers that shape the companies’ strategies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, with particular focus on how the strategies are impacted by membership in green shipping networks. Process tracing is used to track the case companies’ approaches to emissions reduction from 2008 to 2020, the main drivers of emissions reduction, and whether changes in strategy are linked to network membership. This study finds that the main drivers have been initiatives by internal key persons, participation in voluntary programs, mandatory regulations, and customer demand. The analysis shows no major shifts in strategy after joining a green shipping network; however, it does show two ways that network membership may impact the way shipping companies work with emissions reduction. First, membership can lead to adjustments and smaller changes as shipping companies collect information about new trends and technologies. Second, one-on-one guidance and support for preparing funding applications from network administrations may lead to the adoption of zero-emissions technology or fuels.publishedVersio

Study on the cooperation in research - development – innovation activities in Romanian agriculture

The societal challenges in 2020 horizon are represented by food security, sustainable agriculture and bioeconomy. Romania, as member of European Union, has as objective the competitiveness development in agriculture area, through integration of innovation in business environment. Many research studies proved that the performance of innovation process is directly influenced by the cooperation between business environment, research organizations and other catalytic entities. The paper scope is to highlight the cooperation capacity in the innovation process in Romanian agriculture. The analysis carried out is based on finding answers to the following questions: Which is the level of research - development – innovation (RDI) cooperation in Romanian agriculture? Which are the opportunities for financing the cooperation projects in the 2014 – 2020 period? What is the interest of agricultural entrepreneurs to collaborate with research organizations? The research methodology was based on: documentary analysis, socio – economic investigation and multiple correspondence analysis. The results revealed the existence of a poorly developed network of cooperation between research envirnment and business in Romanian agriculture. The advantages of firms involved in these partnerships consist in access to high quality RDI services (eg. elaboration of soil studies with the latest equipment, by the partner research institutes), transfer of scientific information from the research environment, access to input suppliers networks and customers networks etc. Farmers specialized in different branches of agriculture have common interests in the production area, market and innovation. For example, their interest is to get the higher production in terms of quantity and quality, to charge a price increasingly better and to perform minimal consumption on inputs, with maximum effect in outputs. Cooperation between business and research organisations from agriculture has a very important place at the level of programs and funding measures which are promoted by the European Union. Thus, they stimulate by European funds the partnerships between various categories of economic actors in agriculture and related fields. In the future we believe that there is a high potential for cooperation in this economic field

Missing Actions in Cluster Innovation

This case study explores how a cluster project support innovation and value creation in the companies, and how the companies exploit the opportunities offered in the cluster project. Our findings describe missing links between the interorganizational and intraorganizational activities, which leave us with fragmented activities inside the cluster-project but outside the companies. We conclude that the challenges in supporting innovation and exploiting the opportunities offered are entangled in the missing actions and detachment between the actual business network and funded cluster