Tap water costs and service sustainability, a close relationship

Water is currently an essential and strategic resource for society and its importance will rise in the future due to the increasing number of threats. However, water management is not currently up to par taking into consideration this well acknowledged importance. Generally speaking, water use is not efficient and loss figures are often too high. The reasons behind this situation are complex and diverse, however, in principle, they can be divided into four categories: cultural, political, social and economic. Since the latter are of most importance, this paper focuses on water costs from source to tap. The economic analysis presented quantifies the costs of a sustainable urban water service in a structured way. The second part of the paper present a case study in which the economic losses linked to leakage are assessed as a function of how expenses are recovered. The cost of apparent losses could also be assessed in a similar way and will always be higher, since apparent losses (unlike real ones) are present throughout the whole water cycle, thus increasing the unit costs.Cabrera Marcet, E.; Pardo Picazo, MA.; Cabrera Rochera, E.; Arregui De La Cruz, F. (2013). Tap water costs and service sustainability, a close relationship. Water Resources Management. 27(1):239-253. doi:10.1007/s11269-012-0181-3S239253271Almandoz J, Cabrera E, Arregui F, Cabrera Jr E, Cobacho R (2005) Leakage assessment through water networks simulation. J Water Resour Plan Manag ASCE. Nov-Dic. 2005 pp 458–466BDEW (German Association of Energy and Water Industries) (2010) Comparison of European Water and Wastewater Prices German Association of Energy and Water Industries, BonnCabrera E, Pardo MA, Cobacho R, Arregui FJ, Cabrera Jr E (2010) Energy audit of water networks. J. Water Resour. Plan. Manag. ASCE. Nov–Dic. 2010 pp 669–677Coase RH (1960) The problem of social cost. J Law Econ, October 1960den Blanken M (2009) Asset Management. A necessary tool for a modern water company AWWA International Conference on Strategic Asset Management. Miami 11–13 November 2009EPO (Eurostat Press Office) (2010) Facts and figures on the environment: from environmental taxes to water resources. Eurostat Press Office, Luxembourg, December 2010EU (European Union) (2000) Directive 2000/60/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 October 2000. Off J Eur Communities 22.12.2000. Pp L 327/1 to L 327/72IWA (International Water Association) (2010) International statistics for water services. Montreal 2010. Canada. International Water Association, LondonKanakoudis V, Tolikas D (2001) The role of leaks and breaks in water networks: technical and economical solutions. J Water SRT - Aqua 50(2001):301–311Kanakoudis V, Tsitsifli S (2009) Water pricing policies in Greece: is there a Common Understanding?. 2nd International conference on water economics, statistics, and finance Alexandroupolis, Thrace, Greece, 3–5 July 2009.Kanakoudis V, Gonelas K, Tolikas D (2011) Basic principles for urban water value assessment and price setting towards its full cost recovery – pinpointing the role of the water losses. J Water Supply: Res Technol 60(1):27–39Logar I, Van den Berg J (2012) Methods to assess costs of drought damages and policies for drought mitigation and adaptation: Review and recommendations. Water Resour Manag. doi: 10.1007/s11269-012-0119-9Molinos-Senante M, Hernández-Sancho F, Sala-Garrido R (2012) Tariffs and cost recovery in water reuse. Water Resour Manag. doi: 10.1007/s11269-012-0111-4NRC (National Research Council) (2008) Desalination a national perspective. NAP Press, Washington, D.C. National Research Council, Ottawa, CanadaOECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) (2010) Pricing water resources and water and sanitation services. OECD, ParisOFWAT (Office of Water Services) (2009) Future water and sewerage charges 2010-15: Final determinations. OFWAT (Office of Water Services), Birmingham UKRogers P, Bhatia R, Huber A (1998) Water as a social and economic good: How to put the principle into practice. Global Water Partnership, Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency.Roth A (2001) Water pricing in the EU. A review. European Environmental Bureau (EEB), BrusselsWonnacott P, Wonnacott R (1990) Economics, 4th edn. John Wiley, 1990Zhu X, van Ierland EC (2012) Economic modeling for water quantity and quality management: a welfare program approach. Water Resour Manag. doi: 10.1007/s11269-012-0029-

Loving Outside the Neighborhood: The Conflicting Effects of External Linkages on Incremental Innovation in Clusters

[EN] The present study assesses the explanatory capacity of three levels of factors, namely, internal to the company, and internal and external to the cluster, in predicting firms' incremental innovative performance in cluster contexts. The empirical research conducted here focuses on a sample of 92 companies from the Spanish textile industrial cluster in Valencia. Findings reveal that the signifi- cant role played by firms' interorganizational ties as a moderating factor between absorptive capacity and their incremental innovative performance. Additionally, results reflect the differenti- ated roles developed by intra- and extra-cluster linkages in these interaction processes.Tomas Miquel, JV.; Molina-Morales, FX.; Expósito-Langa, M. (2019). Loving Outside the Neighborhood: The Conflicting Effects of External Linkages on Incremental Innovation in Clusters. Journal of Small Business Management. 57(4):1738-1756. https://doi.org/10.1111/jsbm.12439S17381756574Acs, Z., & Audretsch, D. (Eds.). (1991). Innovation and Technological Change. doi:10.3998/mpub.12958Antonelli, C. (2000). Collective Knowledge Communication and Innovation: The Evidence of Technological Districts. Regional Studies, 34(6), 535-547. doi:10.1080/00343400050085657Asheim B. andF.Belussi(2007) “Industrial Districts and Globalisation: Learning and Innovation in Local and Global Production and Innovation Systems ” Paper Presented at EIBA (European International Business Academy) Annual Conference on ‘International Business Local Development and Science‐Technology Relationships’ Catania Italy.Audretsch, D. B., & Lehmann, E. E. (2005). Does the Knowledge Spillover Theory of Entrepreneurship hold for regions? Research Policy, 34(8), 1191-1202. doi:10.1016/j.respol.2005.03.012Barney, J. (1991). Firm Resources and Sustained Competitive Advantage. Journal of Management, 17(1), 99-120. doi:10.1177/014920639101700108Bathelt, H., Malmberg, A., & Maskell, P. (2004). 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Research Policy, 40(10), 1453-1462. doi:10.1016/j.respol.2011.06.007Cattani, G., & Ferriani, S. (2008). A Core/Periphery Perspective on Individual Creative Performance: Social Networks and Cinematic Achievements in the Hollywood Film Industry. Organization Science, 19(6), 824-844. doi:10.1287/orsc.1070.0350Chandy, R. K., & Tellis, G. J. (2000). The Incumbent’s Curse? Incumbency, Size, and Radical Product Innovation. Journal of Marketing, 64(3), 1-17. doi:10.1509/jmkg.64.3.1.18033Cohen, W. M., & Levinthal, D. A. (1990). Absorptive Capacity: A New Perspective on Learning and Innovation. Administrative Science Quarterly, 35(1), 128. doi:10.2307/2393553Coombs, J. E., Deeds, D. L., & Duane Ireland, R. (2009). Placing the choice between exploration and exploitation in context: a study of geography and new product development. Strategic Entrepreneurship Journal, 3(3), 261-279. doi:10.1002/sej.74Dawson, J. F. (2013). Moderation in Management Research: What, Why, When, and How. 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Investigaciones Europeas de Dirección y Economía de la Empresa, 21(3), 120-128. doi:10.1016/j.iedee.2014.03.002Ellison, N. B., Steinfield, C., & Lampe, C. (2007). The Benefits of Facebook «Friends:» Social Capital and College Students’ Use of Online Social Network Sites. Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, 12(4), 1143-1168. doi:10.1111/j.1083-6101.2007.00367.xEscribano, A., Fosfuri, A., & Tribó, J. A. (2009). Managing external knowledge flows: The moderating role of absorptive capacity. Research Policy, 38(1), 96-105. doi:10.1016/j.respol.2008.10.022Forsman, H., & Annala, U. (2011). Small enterprises as innovators: shift from a low performer to a high performer. International Journal of Technology Management, 56(2/3/4), 154. doi:10.1504/ijtm.2011.042980Freeman, L. C. (1978). Centrality in social networks conceptual clarification. Social Networks, 1(3), 215-239. doi:10.1016/0378-8733(78)90021-7Gibson, C. B., & Birkinshaw, J. (2004). 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Competitive Advantages and Barriers in International Construction: An Origin-Host Market Approach

[EN] The growing importance of international construction activity forces companies to find out what competitive advantages to provide and barriers to overcome to achieve success, considering the particular characteristics of their origin and destination countries. Seventy six articles regarding success in the international construction market in the period 2008-2017 are reviewed to identify the barriers and the competitive advantages that most affect the international success of contractors. The Chi-Square (chi(2)) statistical test is used to verify the influence of the origin and destination countries on these variables. The literature identifies the provision of trained human resources as the most important competitive advantage and cultural differences and political risks as the main barriers. The Chi-Square (chi(2)) test indicates a dependency relationship between the origin country and the competitive advantage "managerial ability" to achieve international success, and between the external barriers "link between countries", "political environment" and "economic environment" with the target market. Results of this paper provide valuable information for any construction company seeking international success.Lozano-Torró, A.; García-Segura, T.; Montalbán-Domingo, L.; Pellicer, E. (2020). Competitive Advantages and Barriers in International Construction: An Origin-Host Market Approach. Journal of Civil Engineering and Management. 26(5):475-489. https://doi.org/10.3846/jcem.2020.12180475489265Abdelghany, Y., & Ezeldin, A. S. (2010). Classification of Risks for International Construction Joint Ventures (ICJV) Projects. Construction Research Congress 2010. doi:10.1061/41109(373)126Abdul-Aziz, A.-R., Nor Azmi, H.-A. C. M., Law, Y.-H., & Pengiran, D. N. (2013). Internationalization of Construction-Related Consultants: Impact of Age and Size. Journal of Professional Issues in Engineering Education and Practice, 139(2), 148-155. doi:10.1061/(asce)ei.1943-5541.0000135Ahmed, R., & Azmi bin Mohamad, N. (2016). Exploring the Relationship Between Multi-Dimensional Top Management Support and Project Success: An International Study. Engineering Management Journal, 28(1), 54-67. doi:10.1080/10429247.2015.1136525Ajmal, M. M. (2015). Cultural Effects on Trust Building in International Projects’ Stakeholders. International Journal of Information Technology Project Management, 6(3), 41-57. doi:10.4018/ijitpm.2015070103AKGUL, B. K., OZORHON, B., DIKMEN, I., & BIRGONUL, M. T. (2016). Social network analysis of construction companies operating in international markets: case of Turkish contractors. JOURNAL OF CIVIL ENGINEERING AND MANAGEMENT, 23(3), 327-337. doi:10.3846/13923730.2015.1073617Alashwal, A. M., Fareed, N. F., & Al-obaidi Karam Mustafa. (2017). 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The Management of Research and Development (Selected papers from a conference in Wroclaw, Poland, September 1978)

This paper is one of two IIASA Collaborative Papers containing papers presented at the Third International Conference on the Management of Research, Development and Education held at Wroclaw, Poland in September 1978. The conference was, on this occasion, jointly organized by Dr. Karol Pelc, Director of the Forecasting Research Center of the Technical University of Wroclaw and by Professor Gennady Dobrov, Deputy Director, Institute of Cybernetics, Kiev and at that time a member of the staff of the Management and Technology Area of the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis. Formally, it was jointly sponsored by the Wroclaw Technical University and IIASA. It is always difficult to decide what to do about conference proceedings. The greatest value of such conferences is usually the meeting between minds -- the exchange of information and understanding between people from different cultures and academic backgrounds. This was particularly true at the Wroclaw conference where there was strong representation from ten countries, both East and West. It was a rare opportunity for scientists to identify potential collaborators and discover who was working in which field. Such opportunities are too few. Nevertheless, the Conference Scientific Committee felt that a number of the papers should be made available for reference in a more accessible form, and with their help, we have made a selection for issue as IIASA Collaborative Papers. A complete list of the 40 papers read at the conference are given as an Appendix to this collection -- copies of individual papers can be obtained by request from the Forecasting Research Center, Technical University of Wroclaw. The introductory paper to the conference was on "Main Problems in the Control of Scientific and Technological Creative Activities, Application of Innovations and Education of Scientific Staff" and was given by Professor Jan Kaczmarek, Scientific Secretary of the Polish Academy of Sciences and a member of the IIASA Council. We felt that this was of sufficient interest for a separate issue, and appears as IIASA CP-80-19. For the rest we have selected thirteen papers for issue in this volume, and have divided them into three groups. The first group of five papers is concerned with problems of strategic decision making in the field of science and technology. The first, by Petrasek, provides a new method of classifying the tasks in a forecasting problem which should help in improving the relevance of the results to real-life decisions. Baworowski emphasizes the importance of technology forecasting in developing a producers strategy, and the importance of matching the forecasting procedure to needs at all levels. Two papers, by Schulze and Pelc, are then concerned with the analysis of factors determining national strategy for science and development. Finally, we have a paper by Dierkes and Thienen which discusses the problems of getting a satisfactory debate over science policy issues, and considers the "Science Court" -- proposed originally by Kantrowitz -- as a possible solution. The next group of papers is concerned with structural changes in science and technology and their impact on the management of interdisciplinary research. The first of these is by Albrecht and Otto who discuss, on the basis of extensive historical studies, the dangers of generalizing over the science-technology-production cycle without making clear differentiation between different classes of technology, as well as other factors. Eto shows some of the problems arising from the development of new sciences -- both basic and mission oriented sciences -- and discusses the implications. Glowiak and Winnicki follow this theme in discussing the managerial action needed to stimulate new fields of technological expertise, such as environmental engineering. Finally, Dobrov, Randolph and Nurminski present some work undertaken at IIASA relating to technological change in agriculture, and in particular draw attention to the problems introduced by the rapidly decreasing output-input energy ratio. The third group of papers deals with broader questions of management of R&D and of technological change. Bobryshev and Chereshkin discuss, in particular, the development of a planned management information system for research and development in the USSR. Wasniowski considers four questions related to the management of long range programs, namely: What is a long range program? What are the problems of formulation and management? Why is technology assessment needed? Why is systems analysis needed? He discusses the use of computer conferencing and the use of gaming. Ball, Miller and Pearson then give a detailed study of the development of single cell protein, and pay particular attention to the problem of matching technology to market needs. Finally, Jermakowicz and Ruszkiewicz undertake a study of the machinery industry in Poland which enable them to identify some of the major organizational factors influencing the effectiveness of the Science-Technology-Production cycle in industrial enterprises. All the papers are presented here as given at the conference. In the interests of economy we have not attempted to edit them in any way. We would like to take this opportunity of thanking the members of the Scientific Committee of the conference for their help with regard to the conduct of the conference and the subsequent selection of papers for publication. It was another example of successful international collaboration

Ethics and taxation : a cross-national comparison of UK and Turkish firms

This paper investigates responses to tax related ethical issues facing busines

Attitudinal and behavioural determinants influencing decision makers when adopting integration technologies in local government

Over the last few years, the advent of innovative or revolutionary integration technologies has influenced pivotal decisions within top management to strategically transform Local Government Authorities (LGAs). These technologies may represent a huge cost for adopting LGAs, but may also offer the chance to achieve competitive advantage through superior service delivery. With the emergence of electronic Government (e- Government), LGAs are turning to integration technologies to fully automate and e-enable their business processes and integrate their IT infrastructures. While prior research on the adoption of integration technologies in the private and public domain has considered several determinants (e.g. benefits, barriers, costs), little attention has been given to investigate the attitudinal and behavioural determinants influencing top management’s decision making process for the adoption of integration technologies in LGAs. Notwithstanding, the implications of this research have yet to be assessed, leaving scope for timeliness and novel research. Therefore, it is of high importance to investigate this area within LGAs and contribute to the area of strategic decision making by examining attitudinal and behavioural determinants of top management in relation to integration technologies adoption

Antecedents of trust in international joint ventures' (IJVS) performance in developing countries: A review of empirical evidence

Trust in international joint venture has received much attention for the last 20 years. This study highlights the importance of social capital in international joint ventures (IJVs) in developing countries. This paper assesses the impact of antecedents of trust on performance of international joint ventures in developing countries, which is based on social exchange theory. Little attention has been paid to exploring the concept in IJV. The impacts of components of inter partner-fits and relational factors on trust and the effect of trust on performance of IJVs will be considered. In addition the impact of religion and country risk on level of trust in IJVs in these countries will be evaluated. A framework has been developed based on this review analyses and integrates empirical evidence in order to identify convergence and conflict in IJV. The paper addresses a problem of relevance to both international academics and practitioners in addressing managerial implications. It is hoped that the study will provide a meaningful implication to the process of selection of IJV partners

Inhibitors to optimal project portfolio selection

The selection of projects and programs of work is a key function of both public and private sector organisations. Ideally, projects and programs that are selected to be undertaken are consistent with strategic objectives for the organisation; will provide value for money and return on investment; will be adequately resourced and prioritised; will not compete with general operations for resources and not restrict the ability of operations to provide income to the organisation; will match the capacity and capability of the organisation to deliver; and will produce outputs that are willingly accepted by end users and customers. Unfortunately,this is not always the case. Possible inhibitors to optimal project portfolio selection include: processes that are inconsistent with the needs of the organisation; reluctance to use an approach that may not produce predetermined preferences; loss of control and perceived decision making power; reliance on quantitative methods rather than qualitative methods for justification; ineffective project and program sponsorship; unclear project governance, processes and linkage to business strategies; ignorance, taboos and perceived effectiveness; inadequate education and training about the processes and their importance

Retrospective evaluation and prospective value-add: a review of R&D investment in Australia

This paper describes a lead project currently underway through Australia’s Sustainable Built Environment National Research Centre evaluating diffusion mechanisms and impacts of R&D investment in the Australian built environment. Through a retrospective analysis of R&D investment trends and industry outcomes, and a prospective assessment of industry futures using strategic foresighting, a future-focussed industry R&D roadmap and pursuant policy guidelines will be developed. This research aims to build new understandings and knowledge relevant to R&D funding strategies, research team formation and management, dissemination of outcomes and industry uptake. Each of these issues are critical due to: the disaggregated nature of the built environment industry; intense competition; limited R&D investment; and new challenges (e.g. IT, increased environmental expectations). This paper details the context within which this project is being undertaken and the research design. Findings of the retrospective analysis of past R&D investment in Australia will be presented at this conference