Effects of Structural Intellectual Capital on The Innovation Capacity of Public Administration

Structural capital is one of the elements of intellectual capital, and measuring it in local public administration contributes to assessing value for society. This article analyzes the effects of structural intellectual capital on the innovation capacity of public administration in a Latin American city. The research was carried out with civil servants who hold management positions in the City Hall of the researched city. It was used multivariate exploratory analysis, principal component analysis, correlation and linear regression to statistically organize the data. The main results are that structural intellectual capital has a positive, significant and direct influence on the capacity for innovation in public administration. For public managers, the study demonstrated that investment in structural capital can have direct and proportional effects on the ability to innovate in services and processes, organizational and institutional. Therefore, investments in structure, processes, and organizational philosophy in public administration tend to improve managers' ability to innovate. It is important to highlight that structural intellectual capital aligned with innovation has the potential to significantly improve technology, services, processes, and meeting social demands for the local community

Identifying and Comparing Obstacles and Incentives for the Implementation of Energy Saving Projects in Eastern and Western European Countries: An Exploratory Study

This comparison study of the implementation of energy-saving projects in buildings was conducted in order to consider the diversity of experiences between Western European countries, which have experience and expertise in this area, and those countries in Eastern Europe that are in the beginning stages. The goal of this paper is to analyze obstacles and incentives for investment in energy conservation in buildings by comparing European countries with a diverse landscape of institutional and economic developments, social-cultural values, and environmental framework conditions in order to understand if these differences are influencing the implementation of energy saving measures and how this can be used to overcome the existing obstacles. The study is based on survey results received from experts in Eastern and Western European countries. The main value of the research is that it offers an overview of the potentials and constraints (barriers) to energy efficiency in Europe, based on data from a sample of western and eastern European countries. Among the most important incentives that were implemented to stimulate energy-saving measures are costs savings and the need to meet regulatory requirements. The main obstacles that still restrict the number of already implemented projects in Europe are a lack of proper financial incentives and that many Eastern countries are still struggling to develop the market of Energy Saving Services (ESS) and to operate better energy waste control systems. The paper concludes with the successful incentives that were implemented to stimulate the energy-saving measures and the main obstacles that still restrict the number of already implemented projects in Europe. Additionally, a set of indicators related to the environmental friendliness and social significance of energy-saving measures was proposed for evaluation of the project results. These were used based on the fact that they may be measured and cater for comparisons. This paper can help improve policy-makers’ selections in order to improve economic instruments appropriate to energy-saving policy objectives and specific national contexts

ESTRATÉGIAS DE GESTÃO SUSTENTÁVEL E DESEMPENHO EXPORTADOR EM UMA EMPRESA DA TERCEIRA GERAÇÃO DA CADEIA PETROQUÍMICA

A presente pesquisa possui como objetivo identificar as estratégias de gestão sustentável e o desempenho exportador de uma empresa de transformados plásticos. A transformação de material plástico é a terceira geração da cadeia produtiva petroquímica e é responsável por produzir embalagens, peças e utensílios para quase todos os segmentos produtivos da economia. Em termos metodológicos desenvolveu-se uma pesquisa qualitativa de abordagem descritiva. A coleta e análise dos dados referentes às estratégias de gestão sustentável ampararam-se nos modelos de Placet, Anderson, Fowler (2005) e de Lacy et al (2010). Já o desempenho exportador foi analisado a partir dos estudos de Papadopoulos e Martín (2010). Os principais resultados revelaram que a sustentabilidade está totalmente integrada a estratégia da empresa, contudo apresenta um desempenho exportador ainda incipiente

Lixo Eletrônico: um levantamento da produção científica e dos hot topics publicados na base Web of Science na última década

This paper proposes to analyze publications regarding electronic waste and to identify key areas related to environmental management which are being studied with the proposed theme. The research was conducted in the ISI Web of Knowledge database system Web of Science, searching for publications aiming at identifying main themes, authors, document types, title of sources, year of publications, institutions, funding agencies, languages and countries, as well as the identification of management hot topics combined with electronic waste. Data analysis was based on Banks’ h-b and m index (2006). According to the results of this study, the amount of publications grew, increasing 4 times over this period, focusing on China and the United States, with 97.5% of the publications written in English, having the International Symposium on Electronics and the Environment as a primary source and having Engineering and Ecological and Environmental Sciences as the main themes. Among the 25 topics combined with the theme being investigated, 10 hot topics were highlighted, such as Recycling, Materials, Environment and Management.Key words: electronic waste, environmental management, bibliometric research.Este artigo se propôs a analisar as publicações sobre o tema “lixo eletrônico” e identificar as principais áreas ligadas à gestão ambiental que estão sendo estudadas junto ao tema proposto. A pesquisa foi realizada no banco de dados do sistema Web of Science da ISI Web of Knowledge, procurando identifi car principais áreas temáticas, autores, tipos de documentos, título das fontes, ano das publicações, instituições, agências de financiamento, idiomas e países dessas publicações, assim como a identificação dos “hot topics” da gestão quando combinados com o tópico “lixo eletrônico”. A análise dos dados teve por base os cálculos dos índices h-b e m de Banks (2006). De acordo com os resultados deste estudo, o número de publicações cresceu, multiplicando-se em 4 vezes no período analisado, concentrando-se na China e nos Estados Unidos, com 97,5% das publicações escritas no idioma inglês, tendo como principal fonte o International Symposium on Electronics and the Environment e como principais temas a Engenharia e Ciências Ecológica e Ambiental. Dentre os 25 tópicos combinados com o tema pesquisado, 10 se destacaram como “hot topics”, entre esses os principais foram Recycling, Materials, Environment e Management.Palavras-chave: lixo eletrônico, gestão ambiental, pesquisa bibliométrica

The Electric Vehicle market in Brazil: a systematic literature review of factors influencing purchase decisions

Technological advancement has propelled global economic growth, but it has also led to high rates of pollution emissions, underscoring the urgency of environmental issues. The transportation sector, particularly the rise in individual vehicle ownership, significantly contributes to atmospheric pollution. In this context, Brazil faces growing challenges, largely due to the high number of individual motor vehicles. Transitioning to electric vehicles (EVs) is seen as a sustainable alternative to reduce emissions of polluting gases. However, it is important to consider that EVs may indirectly generate pollution due to energy production in thermal power plants. Nevertheless, EVs are often sought by countries to reduce dependence on imported fuels and to mitigate urban pollution. This study aims to understand the factors influencing the purchase decision of EVs in Brazil through a systematic literature review and validation by specialists using the fuzzy Delphi method. The results indicate 37 variables, grouped into five main blocks: psychological factors, performance factors, environmental factors, barriers, and prospects for the automotive sector. The validation of these variables by specialists provides a solid foundation for the next stage of the research, which involves administering the questionnaire to the general community. Considering these results will lead to strategies aimed at promoting EV adoption, in line with global sustainability challenges and the reduction in CO2 emissions

COVID-19 and sustainability in textile, apparel and fashion use: an assessment of trends

Apart from the many social and health problems it has caused, the COVID-19 pandemic has had a severe impact on most sectors of the economy worldwide. One of the areas where such impact is noticeable is the textile, apparel, and fashion (TAF) industry. The lockdowns and limited access to retailer outlets resulted in a considerable drop in consumption, creating problems related to the excess of stock, the decrease of sales, and the disposal of non-used items. This paper outlines the implications of the COVID-19 on the TAF sectors and European retailers. It analyzes how the current supply chains exacerbated stock control problems, and it reports on the changes in consumption during the pandemic. The worldwide restrictive measures implemented to cope with the COVID-19 pandemic were responsible for significant profit losses. Also, the decrease in consumption, caused by several geographically wide lockdowns, prompted a subsequent reduction in orders and sales, resulting in a significant number of constraints. The implementation of more environmentally friendly processes, including sustainable circularity as a competitiveness source to keep the TAF sectors in the loop and reduce greenhouse gas emissions, may help address the problems associated with the COVID-19 pandemic in the sustainability context, as reported in this paper.info:eu-repo/semantics/acceptedVersio

Mapping sustainability initiatives in higher education institutions in Latin America

Many higher education institutions (HEIs) around the world are involved in a variety of sustainability initiatives. These are acknowledged to be important elements in fostering the cause of sustainability in HEIs, in further developing the organizations’ culture and in acting as enablers in the institutional embedding of sustainability. But despite the relevance of sustainability initiatives, there is a lack of systematic international efforts in how best to map them, especially in Latin America. On the basis of the need to address this gap, this paper reports on the results of an empirical study, aimed at analyzing the current status of sustainability initiatives among Latin American HEIs. Apart from a review of the latest literature, an international survey was performed to design a model using principal component analysis to identify the main descriptors of sustainability initiatives among Latin American HEIs and also the major drivers and challenges. The study sheds some light on the ways universities perceive and handle sustainability-related initiatives. The results show that sustainability is being incorporated in more than 80% of the sampled universities, and that a special emphasis is being given to campus operations. The value of the paper resides on the fact that it one of the few papers that have holistically investigated trends in sustainable development across universities in Latin America. The implications of the study are twofold. It maps for the first time how sustainable development initiatives are being practiced in 157 universities in 13 countries, being one of the most comprehensive studies of its kind, and it also outlines some of the main challenges that universities in the region face. The central message of this paper is that the different levels of emphasis given to SD in Latin American universities need to be better understood in order to catalyze continued and long-term actions

Identifying and overcoming obstacles to the implementation of sustainable development at universities

Although there have been proven and successful developments in the field of Higher Education for Sustainable Development over the past 15 years or so, there are still numerous challenges to be overcome. Among these challenges is the need for Higher Education Institutions to improve the integration of sustainability in the curriculum and in research, and most importantly, to integrate it holistically in their systems. This paper presents an analysis of the fundamental obstacles to the incorporation of sustainable development in universities. It reports on an empirical study performed with universities across the world, where some of the main barriers are identified. It is recommended that these barriers are viewed as obstacles and entrepreneurial opportunities, and addressed accordingly

Moving forward : visions on the future of sustainable development

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