Contract Types, Institutional Distance and Operational Performance: Evidence from Global Trade Flows in the LNG Industry

Supporting Information is available online at https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/1467-8551.12672#support-information-section .We would like to express our gratitude to Kpler for granting us access to its database in order to process their data and conduct this research study. The views in this paper are solely the responsibility of the authors and should not be interpreted as reflecting the views of their institutions and organizations. [Correction added on 7th of November 2022, after first online publication: Figure 1 and hypotheses numbers have been updated in this version.].Copyright © 2022 The Authors. In this study, we examine the relationship between contract types, institutional distance and operational performance in the context of cross-border trade in the liquefied natural gas (LNG) industry. Drawing on the buyer–supplier long-term relationships literature, we argue for a negative link between short-term contractual agreements and operational performance. Further, drawing insights from institutional theory, we contend that a high level of formal and informal institutional distance between the origin (i.e. supplier) and destination (i.e. buyer) countries reduces operational performance. We also argue that formal and informal institutional distance mitigates the negative effect of short-term contracts on operational performance. Finally, we draw on the role of ‘asymmetry in distance’ by examining the direct and moderating effect of both the relevance and direction of formal institutional distance. We test our assumptions using LNG global trade flows from 39 source countries to 44 destination countries over the 2008–2017 period (a total of 17,447 shipments). Our study extends our knowledge on the operational performance implications of buyer–supplier relationships and stresses the important role formal and informal institutional distance plays as a direct and moderating effect on this relationship

Substitution in a hybrid remanufacturing system

AbstractIncreasing legislative and societal pressures are requiring manufacturers to operate more sustainably and to take responsibility for the fate of their goods after they have been used by consumers. A hybrid remanufacturing system, in which newly produced and remanufactured used goods are sold on separate markets but also act substitutes for each other, is described and modelled using a semi-Markov decision process. The model provides an optimal policy, which specifies production, remanufacturing and substitution decisions. The model is used to explore the properties of this hybrid remanufacturing system, and in particular, the managerial implications associated with upward and downward substitution

Extending the Decision-Making Capabilities in Remanufacturing Service Contracts by Using Symbiotic Simulation

Remanufacturing is a critical enabler of a resource efficient manufacturing industry that has long been associated with high value products. Over time, the commercial relationship between customers and service providers has been made through the fulfilment of rights and obligations under remanufacturing service contracts. Nonetheless, financial analysis to evaluate the contract terms and conditions are becoming increasingly difficult to conduct due to complex decision problems inherent in remanufacturing systems. In order to achieve better and safer decision-making to shape the business strategies, remanufacturers often employ computer-based simulation tools to assess contractual obligations and customers’ needs. This paper discusses the roles of a symbiotic simulation system (SSS) in supporting decision-making in remanufacturing systems. An industrial case study of power transformer remanufacturing illustrates how SSS can support contract remanufacturers in managing service contracts planning and execution. By linking the simulation model to the physical system, it has been demonstrated that the capabilities of the remanufacturers to make critical decisions throughout the entire service contract period can be extended

Metrics for optimising the multi-dimensional value of resources recovered from waste in a circular economy: A critical review

© 2017 The Authors - Established assessment methods focusing on resource recovery from waste within a circular economy context consider few or even a single domain/s of value, i.e. environmental, economic, social and technical domains. This partial approach often delivers misleading messages for policy- and decision-makers. It fails to accurately represent systems complexity, and obscures impacts, trade-offs and problem shifting that resource recovery processes or systems intended to promote circular economy may cause. Here, we challenge such partial approaches by critically reviewing the existing suite of environmental, economic, social and technical metrics that have been regularly observed and used in waste management and resource recovery systems' assessment studies, upstream and downstream of the point where waste is generated. We assess the potential of those metrics to evaluate ‘complex value’ of materials, components and products, i.e., the holistic sum of their environmental, economic, social and technical benefits and impacts across the system. Findings suggest that the way resource recovery systems are assessed and evaluated require simplicity, yet must retain a suitable minimum level of detail across all domains of value, which is pivotal for enabling sound decision-making processes. Criteria for defining a suitable set of metrics for assessing resource recovery from waste require them to be simple, transparent and easy to measure, and be both system- and stakeholder-specific. Future developments must focus on providing a framework for the selection of metrics that accurately describe (or at least reliably proxy for) benefits and impacts across all domains of value, enabling effective and transparent analysis of resource recovery form waste in circular economy systems.We gratefully acknowledge support of the UK Natural Environ-ment Research Council (NERC) and the UK Economic and SocialResearch Council (ESRC) who funded this work in the context of‘Complex Value Optimisation for Resource Recovery’(CVORR)project (Grant No. NE/L014149/1)

Administration in greek literature

This doctoral thesis intends to explore the connections between literature and administration through the historical periods of the Modern Greek society. This is the reason why it focuses mainly on certain authors, most of whom have experience as employees in the public or private sector, and through their literate work they testify about the phenomenon of bureaucracy and the conditions in employment. The choice of these authors and literate texts purports to identify the effects of the political and administrative changes in the literature, but also to point out the influence of these changes on the consciousness of the authors and indirectly on their literary expression. The dissertation refers mainly to the 19th century, the period between the two world wars and the period after the war world two, including the decade of 1960. A first part of it focuses on the literature of the 19th century, which deals on administration and employment, since it forms an important and coherent period, different from the literature of the periods between the two world wars and after the war world two. The conclusion of this part of the research is that the state in the 19th century had undertaken different national and social goals from these of the state in the middle war and after world war two periods; therefore its employees have different characteristics. Literate men, who form the spiritual and administrative leadership of the 19th century, think of their mission as a whole, where the literary spirit serves their political and administrative identity. Their actions are guided by their national consciousness and their literary work includes their intension for a major national or social benefit. On the contrary, during middle war period and the period after world war two, public servants despite the fact that are the major part among the literate people, their literary identity does not compromise with their social role. Their literary work predominates, and gains its autonomy in society, either as an expression of opposition or as a personal shelter. The thesis follows and explores this path of development, from the literate man to the employee, and shows the difference between the unity in the mentalities of the employees of the 19th century, and the division in employees attitudes during the middle war period and the period after world war two; a path, that is parallel to this of Greek Literature, which firstly characterized of a romantic expression and a teaching spirit, and later evolved to the “stream of consciousness” of some of the 1930’s authors, and to a turning point in poetry, that was made by poets such as Kavafis, Karyotakis and Seferis. Through this dynamic succession of literate texts - including memoirs, diaries and other personal references - like scattered parts of a puzzle, the thesis attempts to contribute in the research of mentalities and attitudes in Greek State, which is as important as the study of its structure and function.Η παρούσα διατριβή επιδιώκει να συσχετίσει τις ιστορικές εξελίξεις στη διοίκηση και στην υπαλληλία στη νεοελληνική κοινωνία με τη νεοελληνική λογοτεχνική παράδοση. Γι’ αυτό, προσανατολίζεται κυρίως σε ορισμένες ενδεικτικές περιπτώσεις συγγραφέων, που οι περισσότεροι υπήρξαν υπάλληλοι, δημόσιοι αλλά και ιδιωτικοί, και με το έργο τους τοποθετούνται απέναντι στο διοικητικό φαινόμενο και στην υπαλληλική σχέση ειδικότερα. Η επιλογή αυτή, συγγραφέων και λογοτεχνικών κειμένων, αποσκοπεί στην ανάδειξη των απόηχων των πολιτικών και διοικητικών αλλαγών στα λογοτεχνικά έργα, αλλά και των επιδράσεών των αλλαγών αυτών στις συνειδήσεις των συγγραφέων, και έμμεσα ίσως και στην ίδια τη λογοτεχνική έκφραση. Σχετικά με την περίοδο αναφοράς της διατριβής, αυτή καλύπτει κυρίως τον 19ο αιώνα, το Μεσοπόλεμο και τη μεταπολεμική εποχή, έως τη δεκαετία του 1960. Το πρώτο μέρος της εστιάζεται στα λογοτεχνικά κείμενα του 19ου αιώνα, τα οποία αφορούν τη διοίκηση και την υπαλληλία, και αποτελούν ένα εξίσου σημαντικό και συνεκτικό σύνολο, όσο εκείνα της μεσοπολεμικής και της μεταπολεμικής εποχής. Από τη μελέτη τεκμαίρεται ότι το κράτος του 19ου αιώνα έχει διαφορετικούς, εθνικούς και κοινωνικούς στόχους από εκείνο της μεσοπολεμικής και της μεταπολεμικής περιόδου, και οι δημόσιοι λειτουργοί έχουν ξεχωριστά χαρακτηριστικά. Οι λόγιοι, οι οποίοι αποτελούν την πνευματική αλλά και τη διοικητική ηγεσία στον 19ο αιώνα, αντιλαμβάνονται συνήθως την αποστολή τους ενιαία, με την ιδιότητα του πνευματικού ανθρώπου να υπηρετεί εκείνη του δημόσιου άνδρα. Η εθνική συνείδηση κατευθύνει τη δράση τους, ενώ το λογοτεχνικό τους έργο υποτάσσεται σ’ έναν ευρύτερο, ωφέλιμο, εθνικό ή κοινωνικό σκοπό. Αντίθετα, κατά τη μεσοπολεμική και τη μεταπολεμική περίοδο, οι δημόσιοι υπάλληλοι ίσως να αφθονούν στις τάξεις των γραμμάτων, όμως η πνευματική τους ιδιότητα δεν εναρμονίζεται με τον κοινωνικό τους ρόλο. Το έργο κυριαρχεί, αποκτά την αυτονομία του και υψώνεται, ως αντίπαλο δέος ή προσωπικό καταφύγιο, απέναντι στην κοινωνία. Η διατριβή παρακολουθεί και αναδεικνύει ακριβώς αυτή τη διαδρομή, από τον λόγιο στον υπάλληλο, και από την “ενότητα σκέψης” των διοικητικών ηγεσιών του 19ου αιώνα στη διάχυση και την κατάτμηση της υπαλληλικής συνείδησης στο Μεσοπόλεμο και στη μεταπολεμική εποχή· μια διαδρομή που είναι παράλληλη μ’ εκείνη της νεοελληνικής λογοτεχνίας, από τον ελληνικό ρομαντισμό του 19ου αιώνα και τον διδακτισμό των πρώτων πεζογράφων, στον “εσωτερικό μονόλογο” ορισμένων συγγραφέων της γενιάς του 1930 και στη “στροφή” της ποίησής μας, με τον Καβάφη, τον Καρυωτάκη και τον Σεφέρη. Έτσι, μ’ αυτή τη δυναμική διαδοχή των κειμένων, μ’ αυτές τις σκόρπιες ψηφίδες που είναι τα λογοτεχνικά έργα και οι λοιπές σχετικές πηγές - τα απομνημονεύματα, τα ημερολόγια και οι άλλες προσωπικές μαρτυρίες - η διατριβή επιχειρεί να συμβάλλει στη μελέτη των στάσεων, των συνειδήσεων και των νοοτροπιών στην ελληνική διοίκηση, έργο εξίσου χρήσιμο και σημαντικό με τη μελέτη των δομών και των λειτουργιών της

Esophageal Perforation due to Transesophageal Echocardiogram: New Endoscopic Clip Treatment

Esophageal perforation due to transesophageal echocardiogram (TEE) during cardiac surgery is rare. A 72-year-old female underwent TEE during an operation for aortic valve replacement. Further, the patient presented hematemesis. Gastroscopy revealed an esophageal bleeding ulcer. Endoscopic therapy was successful. Although a CT scan excluded perforation, the patient became febrile, and a second gastroscopy revealed a big perforation at the site of ulcer. The patient's clinical condition required endoscopic intervention with a new OTSC® clip (Ovesco Endoscopy, Tübingen, Germany). The perforation was successfully sealed. The patient remained on intravenous antibiotics, proton pump inhibitors and parenteral nutrition for few days, followed by enteral feeding. She was discharged fully recovered 3 months later. We clearly demonstrate an effective, less invasive treatment of an esophageal perforation with a new endoscopic clip