Policy insights and modelling challenges: The case of passenger car powertrain technology transition in the European Union

Purpose: We are interested in what policy insights can be transferred from EU countries that have been most successful in introducing EVs to those that are debating policy options. As we use a model to explore this, we are also interested in the application of modelling, seeking to understand if real world policies and results can be replicated in a model and, more generally, the challenges to the use of modelling in policy appraisal. Methods: We use the EC-JRC Powertrain Technology Transition Market Agent Model (PTTMAM), a system dynamics model based around the interactions of conceptual market agent groups in the EU. We perform iterative scenario tests to replicate the policies carried out in the Netherlands and the UK in recent years in an attempt to achieve similar results in EV sales. We then transfer the policy scenarios to other EU member states and assess the transferability of the policies. Results: Reasonable approximations of the Netherlands and UK EV policies and sales were achieved and implemented in other EU member states. Conclusion: We find that the PTTMAM is fit-for-purpose and can replicate successful policies to a certain degree. Policy success is sensitive to country specific conditions, and a system dynamics model like the PTTMAM can help identify which conditions react to which policy stimulus. There are challenges to modelling in policy appraisal, such as the subjectivity of the modeller and flexibility to specific conditions, which must be kept transparent for the model to be a relevant tool for policy making

Modeling Information Manufacturing Systems to Determine Information Product Quality

Many of the concepts and procedures of product quality control can be applied to the problem of producing better quality information outputs. From this perspective, information outputs can be viewed as information products, and many information systems can be modeled as information manufacturing systems. The use of information products is becoming increasingly prevalent both within and across organizational boundaries. This paper presents a set of ideas, concepts, models, and procedures appropriate to information manufacturing systems that can be used to determine the quality of information products delivered, or transferred, to information customers. These systems produce information products on a regular or as-requested basis. The model systematically tracks relevant attributes of the information product such as timeliness, accuracy and cost. This is facilitated through an information manufacturing analysis matrix that relates data units and various system components. Measures of these attributes can then be used to analyze potential improvements to the information manufacturing system under consideration. An illustrative example is given to demonstrate the various features of the information manufacturing system and show how it can be used to analyze and improve the system. Following that is an actual application, which, although not as involved as the illustrative example, does demonstrate the applicability of the model and its associated concepts and procedures.Data Quality, Timeliness of Information, Information Product, Information systems, Critical Path

Can Strategic Risk Management Contribute to Enterprise Risk Management? A Strategic Management Perspective

Within the discipline of enterprise risk management (ERM), strategic risk management (SRM) has become a subject of increasing interest to practitioners and academics. To our knowledge, the term “strategic risk management” first appeared in the management literature in 1985 and 1986 (Jammine, 1985; Figenbaum & Thomas, 1986) and in the academic finance literature in 1990 (Rawls and Smithson, 1990), although early usage of the term did not clearly relate to later conceptions. The phrase has been in use even longer than ERM (Bromiley, McShane, Nair, and Rustambekov, 2014). Even with this longevity, the meaning of the term remains unclear, with confusion increasing with the advent of ERM. For example, does SRM mean the management of a specific category of risks known as “strategic risks” (AICPCU, 2013) or does SRM mean strategic actions/responses taken to mitigate major uncertainties facing the enterprise? Can any type of risk potentially become a strategic risk, or are only certain types of risk strategic? Is SRM a separate type of risk management or a subset of ERM