Envisioning the "Sharing City": Governance Strategies for the Sharing Economy

Recent developments around the sharing economy bring to the fore questions of governability and broader societal Benefit - and subsequently the need to explore effective means of public governance, from nurturing, on the one hand, to restriction, on the other. As sharing is a predominately urban phenomenon in modern societies, cities around the globe have become both locus of action and central actor in the debates over the nature and organization of the sharing economy. However, cities vary substantially in the interpretation of potential opportunities and challenges, as well as in their governance responses. Building on a qualitative comparative analysis of 16 leading global cities, our findings reveal four framings of the sharing economy: "societal endangerment", "societal enhancement", "market disruption", and "ecological Transition". Such framings go hand in hand with patterned governance responses: although there is considerable heterogeneity in the combination of public governance strategies, we find specific configurations of framings and public governance strategies. Our work reflects the political and ethical debates on various economic, social, and moral issues related to the sharing economy, and contrib-utes to a better understanding of the field-level institutional Arrangements-a prerequisite for examining moral behavior of sharing economy organizations

Annulment proceedings and multilevel judicial conflict

This open access book provides an exhaustive picture of the role that annulment conflicts play in the EU multilevel system. Based on a rich dataset of annulment actions since the 1960s and a number of in-depth case studies, it explores the political dimension of annulment litigation, which has become an increasingly relevant judicial tool in the struggle over policy content and decision-making competences. The book covers the motivations of actors to turn policy conflicts into annulment actions, the emergence of multilevel actors’ litigant configurations, the impact of actors’ constellations on success in court, as well as the impact of annulment actions on the multilevel policy conflicts they originate from

On the future of international joint venture research

International joint ventures (IJVs) are an important type of international strategic alliance (ISA) and have been studied by scholars for decades, resulting in a plethora of empirical studies, publications, and reviews, yet an inadequate accumulation of knowledge exists, as a closer look reveals. Much more than providing a summary and critical assessment of past contributions, this paper develops an expansive research agenda based upon a deep understanding of past research and comprehensive frameworks that distill this research. We identify a number of research opportunities that would not only advance IJV research but also closely related literatures and disciplines such as ISAs, theories of the multinational firm, international business research, and strategic management

Development cooperation and non-state armed groups

As CPU chips integrate more processor cores, computer systems are evolving from multi-core to many-core. How to utilize them fully and efficiently is a great challenge. With message passing and native support of concurrent programming, Erlang is a convenient way of developing applications on these systems. The scalability of applications is dependent on the performance of the underlying Erlang runtime system or virtual machine (VM). This thesis presents a study on the scalability of the Erlang VM on a many-core processor with 64 cores, TILEPro64. The purpose is to study the implementation of parallel Erlang VM, investigate its performance, identify bottlenecks and provide optimization suggestions. To achieve this goal, the VM is tested with some benchmark programs. Then discovered problems are examinedmore closely with methods such as profiling and tracing. The results show that the current version of Erlang VM achieves good scalability on the processor with most benchmarks used. The maximum speedup is from about 40 to 50 on 60 cores. Synchronization overhead caused by contention is a major bottleneck of the system. The scalability can be improved by reducing lock contention. Another major problem is that the parallel version of the virtual machine using one core is much slower than the sequential version with a benchmark program containing a huge amount of message passing. Further analysis indicates that synchronization latency induced by uncontended locks is one of the main reasons. Low overhead locks, lock-free structures or algorithms are recommended for improving the performance of the Erlang VM. Our evaluation result suggests Erlang is ready to be used to develop applications on many-core systems

A holistic approach toward sustainability performance: the role of the human and financial factors

Al llarg de les últimes dècades i degut a les seqüeles de la revolució industrial, l'exercici de la sostenibilitat ha estat una preocupació "comuna" entre els legisladors i reguladors, científics i acadèmics, professionals i líders empresarials. En conseqüència, s'ha estat produint una dràstica metamorfosi i un canvi estratègic en el món empresarial i en diverses organitzacions per tal d’adaptar-se a la necessitat emergent d'acompliment sostenible i assolir els Objectius de Desenvolupament Sostenible de les Nacions Unides. Aquesta tesi doctoral investiga l'impacte del factor humà i els indicadors financers en l'exercici de la sostenibilitat. El propòsit principal d'aquesta tesi és desvetllar els antecedents de les pràctiques ambientals i socials en les perspectives organitzacional i transnacional. Adoptant dissenys d'investigació tant qualitatius com quantitatius, examinem els prerequisits de l'acompliment de la sostenibilitat des de perspectives multidisciplinàries: gestió de recursos humans ecològics, govern corporatiu com a junta directiva, i acompliment financer com liquiditat i valoració de mercat ferma. A més, ens assegurem confiar en índexs validats, fiables i comunament aplicats a la literatura: l'índex de sostenibilitat Dow Jones (DJSI) i l'índex ambiental, social i de governança (ESG) de la base de dades Eikon de Thomson Reuters, com indicadors de les pràctiques de sostenibilitat. L'estructura d'aquesta tesi doctoral consta dels següents capítols: Els capítols 1 i 5 constitueixen la Introducció i Conclusió de la tesi; Els capítols 2, 3 i 4 representen els tres estudis d'investigació realitzats durant el programa de doctorat. El capítol 2 consisteix en una revisió sistemàtica de la literatura que identifica els antecedents, resultats i barreres de la gestió sostenible dels recursos humans (SHRM). El capítol 3 comprèn una anàlisi empírica que investiga els determinants de la junta directiva (BOD) que milloren les pràctiques de sostenibilitat i examina les discrepàncies de les característiques de BOD entre organitzacions europees i no europees. Finalment, el Capítol 4 investiga el nexe entre l'acompliment financer (flux de caixa lliure i Tobin´s Q) i les mesures ambientals, socials i de governabilitat i prova empíricament l'efecte moderador de la gestió de la qualitat total (TQM) en aquesta associació. En general, els resultats del Capítol 3 revelen una associació positiva i significativa entre les característiques de la junta directiva i l'acompliment en sostenibilitat. A nivell transnacional, l'anàlisi de regressió proporciona evidències estadístiques que donen suport a les diferències entre els indicadors de BOD entre empreses europees i no europees. Els determinants demogràfics de la BOD són els antecedents de les pràctiques de sostenibilitat en les empreses europees; l'estructura i composició de la BOD són els requisits previs de l'acompliment de la sostenibilitat en un context no europeu. Pel que fa al capítol 4, els resultats indiquen un efecte catalitzador entre la liquiditat de l'empresa i l'acompliment ESG. Mentre, la interacció entre la TQM i el factor de liquiditat té un efecte negatiu en l'ESG, la interacció entre la TQM i la Tobin´s Q revela una relació positiva i significativa amb l'ESG.A lo largo de las últimas décadas y debido a las secuelas de la revolución industrial, el desempeño de la sostenibilidad ha sido una preocupación "común" entre los legisladores y reguladores, científicos y académicos, profesionales y líderes empresariales. En consecuencia, se ha estado produciendo una drástica metamorfosis y un cambio estratégico en el mundo empresarial y en varias organizaciones para adaptarse a la necesidad emergente de desempeño sostenible y lograr los Objetivos de Desarrollo Sostenible de las Naciones Unidas. Esta tesis doctoral investiga el impacto del factor humano y los indicadores financieros en el desempeño de la sostenibilidad. El propósito principal de esta tesis es develar los antecedentes de las prácticas ambientales y sociales en las perspectivas organizacional y transnacional. Adoptando diseños de investigación tanto cualitativos como cuantitativos, examinamos los prerrequisitos del desempeño de la sostenibilidad desde perspectivas multidisciplinarias: la gestión de recursos humanos ecológicos, el gobierno corporativo como junta directiva, y el desempeño financiero como liquidez y valoración de mercado firme. Además, nos aseguramos de confiar en índices validados, contrastables y comúnmente aplicados en la literatura: el índice de sostenibilidad Dow Jones (DJSI) y el índice ambiental, social y de gobernanza (ESG) de la base de datos Eikon de Thomson Reuters, como indicadores de las prácticas de sostenibilidad. La estructura de esta tesis doctoral consta de los siguientes capítulos: Los capítulos 1 y 5 constituyen la Introducción y Conclusión de la tesis; Los capítulos 2, 3 y 4 representan los tres estudios de investigación realizados durante el programa de doctorado. El Capítulo 2 consiste en una revisión sistemática de la literatura que identifica los antecedentes, resultados y barreras de la gestión sostenible de los recursos humanos (SHRM). El capítulo 3 comprende un análisis empírico que investiga los determinantes de la junta directiva (BOD) que mejoran las prácticas de sostenibilidad y examina las discrepancias de las características de BOD entre organizaciones europeas y no europeas. Por último, el Capítulo 4 investiga el nexo entre el desempeño financiero (flujo de caja libre y Tobin´s Q) y las medidas ambientales, sociales y de gobernabilidad y prueba empíricamente el efecto moderador de la gestión de la calidad total (TQM) en esta asociación. En general, los resultados del Capítulo 3 revelan una asociación positiva y significativa entre las características de la junta directiva y el desempeño en sostenibilidad. A nivel transnacional, el análisis de regresión proporciona evidencias estadísticas que respaldan las diferencias entre los indicadores de BOD entre empresas europeas y no europeas. Los determinantes demográficos de la BOD son los antecedentes de las prácticas de sostenibilidad en las empresas europeas; la estructura y composición de la BOD son los requisitos previos del desempeño de la sostenibilidad en un contexto no europeo. En cuanto al Capítulo 4, los hallazgos indican un efecto catalizador entre la liquidez de la empresa y el desempeño ESG. Mientras la interacción entre la TQM y el factor de liquidez tiene un efecto negativo en la ESG, la interacción entre la TQM y la Tobin´s Q revela una relación positiva y significativa con la ESG.During the last decades and the aftermath of the industrial revolution, sustainability performance has been a “common” concern among policy-makers and regulators, scientists and scholars, practitioners and business leaders. A drastic metamorphosis and strategic shifting have been occurring in the corporate world and in several organizations to accommodate the emergent need of sustainability performance and to accomplish the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. Accordingly, this PhD thesis investigates the impact of the human factor and financial indicators on sustainability performance. The main purpose of this thesis is to unveil the antecedents of environmental and social practices at both organizational and cross-national perspectives. Embracing both qualitative and quantitative research designs, we examine the pre-requisites of sustainability performance from multi-disciplinary perspectives: from green human resources management, from corporate governance as board of directors, and from financial performance as liquidity and firm market valuation. Moreover, we make sure to rely on validated, reliable, and commonly applied indices in the literature i.e., Dow Jones Sustainability Index (DJSI) and environmental, social, and governance index (ESG) of Thomson Reuters Eikon database, as proxies of sustainability practices. The structure of this doctoral thesis consists of the following chapters: Chapters 1and 5 constitute the Introduction and the Conclusion of the thesis; Chapters 2, 3, and 4 represents the three research studies conducted during the PhD program. Chapter 2 consists of a systematic literature review identifying the antecedents, outcomes, and barriers of sustainable human resources management (SHRM). Chapter 3 comprises an empirical analysis investigating the determinants of board of directors (BOD) that enhance sustainability practices and examines the discrepancies of the BOD characteristics between European and non-European organizations. Last but not least, Chapter 4 investigates the nexus between financial performance (free cash flow and Tobin´s Q) and environmental, social and governance scores and empirically tests the moderator effect of total quality management (TQM) on this association. Overall, the results of Chapter 3 reveal a positive and significant association between board of directors characteristics and sustainability performance. At cross-national level, the regression analysis provide statistical evidences supporting the differences among BOD indicators between European and non-European firms. While, the BOD demographic determinants are the antecedents of sustainability practices in European companies, structure and composition of the BOD are the pre-requisites of sustainability performance in non-European context. As for Chapter 4, the findings indicate a catalyst effect between firm´s liquidity and ESG performance. While the interaction between TQM and liquidity factor has a negative effect on ESG, the interaction between TQM and Tobin’s Q reveals a positive and significant relationship with ESG

Development cooperation and non-state armed groups

Die vorliegende Studie ist das Ergebnis eines Forschungsvorhabens des Deutschen Instituts für Entwicklungspolitik (DIE). Ziel der Studie ist es, zu einem besseren Verständnis des Themas beizutragen und zu helfen, sowohl die Reaktionsfähigkeit der entwicklungspolitischen Akteure in Bezug auf non-state armed groups/nichtstaatliche Gewaltakteure (NSAG) in Krisensituationen als auch ihre Möglichkeiten im Umgang mit NSAG zur Konfliktbearbeitung zu verbessern. Hintergrund des Forschungsvorhabens sind Situationen gewalttätiger Auseinandersetzungen, mit denen Entwicklungspolitik in vielen Ländern und Regionen konfrontiert ist. Nichtstaatliche bewaffnete Gruppierungen sind ein Hauptmerkmal innerstaatlicher Konflikte und vieler regionaler Kriege. Typische Erscheinungsformen nichtstaatlicher Gewaltakteure sind Rebellenarmeen, Kriegsherren oder Terroristen. Unter NSAG werden im Rahmen der vorliegenden Untersuchung Gruppen verstanden, die durch ihr Handeln das Gewaltmonopol des Staates in Frage stellen. "Interaktion" oder "Umgang" mit NSAG bedeutet im Sinne der vorliegenden Studie ausschließlich ein reflektiertes Vorgehen gegenüber diesen Gruppen. Interaktion ist also nicht gleichbedeutend mit "Kooperation" oder der expliziten oder impliziten Anerkennung oder Legitimierung von Zielen oder Methoden einer NSAG. (ICD2

GATT-Think

We describe recent work on the theory of trade agreements that speaks to the purpose and design of GATT. Our discussion proceeds in three steps. First, we examine the purpose of a trade agreement. In both the traditional economic and the political-economy approaches to the study of trade agreements, the problem for a trade agreement to solve is the excessive protection that arises in the absence of an agreement as a consequence of the terms-of-trade externality. Second, we consider the origin and design of GATT. We note that GATT is a rules-based institution whose origin can be traced to the disastrous economic performance that accompanied the high tariffs of the 1920's and 1930's. Finally, we review the theoretical literature that interprets and evaluates the institutional features found in GATT. We consider in particular whether GATT articles can be interpreted as offering negotiation rules that help governments undo the inefficient restrictions in trade that are caused by the terms-of-trade externality. On the whole, our review suggests that the core principles of GATT indeed may be interpreted in this manner. Specifically, we report findings that indicate that the principles of reciprocity and non-discrimination work in concert to remedy the inefficiency created by the terms-of-trade externality. We also extract a variety of predictions from the literature on enforcement and trade policy, and we argue that these predictions are broadly compatible with both the design of GATT and certain historical experiences in trade-policy conduct. We thus interpret the literature reviewed here as providing a strong presumption for the view that GATT can be understood as an institution whose central principles are well-designed to assist governments in their attempt to escape from a terms-of-trade-driven Prisoners' Dilemma. Our review therefore offers support for the (politically-augmented) terms-of-trade theory as an appropriate framework within which to interpret and evaluate GATT.

Temporary labour migration for victims of natural disasters: the Columbia-Spain model

Environmental degradation is increasingly causing large-scale migration. This paper looks into international labour migration as a strategy to adapt to a changing environment. Facilitating legal migration for persons affected by environmental degradation can prevent them from being forcibly displaced, can reduce their vulnerability to future environmental disruptions, and can contribute to the development of vulnerable communities. This paper analyses how ‘environmental migration’ could be facilitated, through a case study of the Colombian Temporary and Circular Labour Migration project. Through this innovative migration model, based on an agreement between Colombia and Spain, Colombians facing recurring natural disasters, are offered a livelihood alternative through temporary work abroad, while affected zones can recuperate. This programme, supported by the IOM, illustrates how a European member State can enable vulnerable people to migrate overseas by providing labour migration opportunities for selected beneficiaries. By supporting migrants in maximizing the impact of remittances on the recovery of their place of origin, the TCLM programme increases their resilience to natural disasters, and offers them an alternative to permanent and/or urban migration. The paper discusses the normative framework supporting the TCLM programme, and identifies some conditions for the replication of the programme in other states. The potential of the project for both development and adaptation to environmental changes is being considered