Managing knowledge risks in intrapreneurial environment

The knowledge-based view of the firm argues that knowledge and the capability to create and share it are the key resource of the firm's competitive advantage. Since many organizations are becoming knowledge intensive, an increased need of awareness regarding the risks residing in the knowledge processes develops, as well as the need to know how these risks affect the entrepreneurial behavior of people inside the company. In this paper we seek to provide a structured framework of knowledge risks, based on relevant literature and results of semi-structured interviews conducted with middle managers inside ten banking institutions. Using the Delphi method, we also explore whether effective management of knowledge risks boosts the entrepreneurial skills of employees working in a bank, thus fostering intrapreneurship. Our qualitative research provided us with a much needed classification framework of knowledge risks, molded on the classic configuration of the knowledge processes. Moreover, we have validated the knowledge variables which highly influence the intrapreneurial environment in a bank. We contribute to the scarce literature written on the topic of knowledge risks, by identifying the critical knowledge risk drivers and we detail how managing these risks can enhance the competitiveness of the firm. The research led us to discover that the most powerful variable residing in the knowledge processes flow is collaboration and communication among the actors involved

The Positioning of Universities in Collaborative Models as Clusters in a Knowledge Based Economy

The most significant research about knowledge based economy is concentrated on innovation. Research about entrepreneurial thinking at the university level and positioning of universities in collaborative models as clusters are in the early stages. The new approach that we propose in this research is positioning the university as a main promoter and integrator of organizations in clusters and innovations enterprises networks in a global network of knowledge. The results of this research are based on data that was obtained through questionnaires from organizations that are active in the ITC industry in the region of Bucharest-Ilfov. These characteristics are representative for different types of clusters.economic cluster, institutional cluster, objectives for cluster establishing, specialized knowledge

The Positioning of Universities in Collaborative Models as Clusters in a Knowledge Based Economy

The most significant research about knowledge based economy is concentrated on innovation. Research about entrepreneurial thinking at the university level and positioning of universities in collaborative models as clusters are in the early stages. The new approach that we propose in this research is positioning the university as a main promoter and integrator of organizations in clusters and innovations enterprises networks in a global network of knowledge. The results of this research are based on data that was obtained through questionnaires from organizations that are active in the ITC industry in the region of Bucharest-Ilfov. These characteristics are representative for different types of clusters

Layout design as a risk driver for energy efficiency of photovoltaic power systems

This paper explores the existence of a correlation between the energy efficiency generated by photovoltaic power systems and the layout design of the photovoltaic panels, as well as the level in which the layout design acts as a risk driver for energy efficiency, in the context of solar energy. Improved energy efficiency is the decisive response to the weight of the climate change, limited conventional energy sources and technological innovation challenges with the purpose of carbon emissions reduction. However, the dangers hampering energy efficiency form a field of study less explored in the specific literature. As a result, in this paper, we seek to address the energy efficiency issue on the background of photovoltaic power systems, by focusing our attention on the technological parameters that influence it: the layout design of photovoltaic (PV) panels. Our methodology is based on a practical study performed over a period of one year on a photovoltaic field in Romania. The analysis was made with PV-syst software version 5.11., which helped us measure the photovoltaic system performance under three different variants, defined by the parameters that impact on the energy efficiency of the PV system. We have found that the generator inclination, the angle made by the panels shading horizontal distance and the distance between two consecutive rows of panels influence the power generated by the whole system, with direct effect on energy efficiency. The results of our study can guide a photovoltaic power system to boost its energy efficiency, while reducing the technological risks residing in practical manipulation of technical specification. This paper will contribute also to the literature of energy efficiency in the context of highly sought renewable energies by aligning technical parameters with performance ratios in a risk management and efficiency framework

The transformation of the forest steppe in the lower Danube Plain of south-eastern Europe : 6000 years of vegetation and land use dynamics

Forest steppes are dynamic ecosystems, highly susceptible to changes in climate and land use. Here we examine the Holocene history of the European forest steppe ecotone in the Lower Danube Plain to better understand its sensitivity to climate fluctuations and human impact, and the timing of its transition into a cultural forest steppe. We used multi-proxy analyses (pollen, n-alkane, coprophilous fungi, charcoal, and geochemistry) of a 6000-year sequence from Lake Oltina (SE Romania), combined with a REVEALS model of quantitative vegetation cover. We found the greatest tree cover, composed of xerothermic (Carpinus orientalis and Quercus) and temperate (Carpinus betulus, Tilia, Ulmus and Fraxinus) tree taxa between 6000 and 2500 cal yr BP. Maximum tree cover (~ 50 %) occurred between 4200 and 2500 cal yr BP at a time of wetter climatic conditions. Compared to other European forest steppe areas, the dominance of Carpinus orientalis represents the most distinct feature of the woodland's composition during that time. Forest loss was under way by 2500 yr BP (Iron Age) with REVEALS estimates indicating a fall to ~ 20 % tree cover from the mid-Holocene forest maximum linked to clearance for agriculture, while climate conditions remained wet. Biomass burning increased markedly at 2500 cal yr BP suggesting that fire was regularly used as a management tool until 1000 cal yr BP when woody vegetation became scarce. A sparse tree cover, with only weak signs of forest recovery, then became a permanent characteristic of the Lower Danube Plain, highlighting recurring anthropogenic pressure. The timing of anthropogenic ecosystem transformation here (2500 cal yr BP) was in between that in central eastern (between 3700 and 3000 cal yr BP) and eastern (after 2000 cal yr BP) Europe. Our study is the first quantitative land cover estimate at the forest steppe ecotone in south eastern Europe spanning 6000 years and provides critical empirical evidence that the present-day forest steppe/woodlands reflects the potential natural vegetation in this region under current climate conditions. This study also highlights the potential of n-alkane indices for vegetation reconstruction, particularly in dry regions where pollen is poorly preserved

Peat bog and alluvial deposits reveal land degradation during 16th and 17th century colonisation of the western Carpathians (Czech Republic)

Wallachian (shepherd) colonisation of the upper parts of Carpathians, the second largest mountain range in Europe, provides a unique opportunity to study human-induced ecological changes and subsequent sediment mobilisation within slope and fluvial systems. The Wallachians came to the nearly pristine landscape in the Czech part of the Western Carpathians during the 16–17th Century bringing large scale deforestation and grazing to the upper parts of its ridges. Despite the importance of this event, there is a lack of high-resolution multi-proxy reconstructions to help to decipher the relative influence of anthropogenic and climate factors on this landscape. Here we provide a ca. 2.1 kyr record obtained from a peat bog where, using chronological, sedimentological and pollen analyses, we were able to differentiate between environmental conditions before, during and after colonisation. Prior to colonisation, climate deterioration following the onset of Little Ice Age caused changes in forest composition and erosion events (causing a ~AD 0–1500 gap in the record). Abrupt human-induced deforestation detected in the pollen record, together with the abundant fine-grained minerogenic content of peat deposits between AD ~1640 and AD 1870, correspond to increased runoff and sheet erosion on slopes; enhanced by Little Ice Age climate deterioration. The sedimentary record in alluvial deposits downstream indicates that the colonisation of the mountain slopes in this region not only had a local effect on soil degradation, but it also increased the net aggradation of overbank deposits within valley floors. After reforestation, net aggradation was replaced by river incision into alluvia

How warm? How wet? Hydroclimate reconstruction of the past 7500 years in northern Carpathians, Romania

As natural and anthropogenic ecosystems are dependent on the local water availability, understanding past changes in hydroclimate represents a priority in research concerning past climate variability. Here, we used testate amoebae (TA) and chironomid analysis on a radiocarbon dated complex of small pond and peat bog sediment profiles from an ombrotrophic bog (Taut Muced, northern Carpathians, Romania) to quantitatively determine major hydrological changes and July air temperature over the last 7500 years.Wet mire surface conditions with a pH between 23 and 4.5 were inferred for the periods 4500-2700 and 1300400 cal yr BP by the occurrence of Archerella flavum, Amphitrema wrightianum and Hyalosphenia papilio. Dry phases in mire surface conditions and a pH between 2.5 and 5 were inferred for 7550-4500, 2750-1300 and 0 cal yr BP-present by the dominance of Nebela militaris, Difflugia pulex and Phryganella acropodia. The quantitative reconstruction of mean July temperature based on the chironomid communities suggests low summer temperatures for the periods 6550-5600, 4500-3150 and 1550-600 cal yr BP, while periods of slightly higher summer temperatures were observed for 5600-4500,3150-1550 and 100 cal yr BP-present. There is a generally good agreement between drier phases of the peat surface conditions with higher July temperature, suggesting that temperature may have been a controlling factor for water table fluctuation.Our quantitative reconstructions, among the first for central eastern Europe, show a relatively good agreement with other palaeohydrological studies from central eastern Europe, but contrast with others estimates from north-west Europe. Another important aspect of our study is that it provides valuable information on changes in local hydrology and the potential effect of the mean summer temperature over these changes. (C) 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved

European pollen-based REVEALS land-cover reconstructions for the Holocene: methodology, mapping and potentials

Abstract. Quantitative reconstructions of past land cover are necessary to determine the processes involved in climate–human–land-cover interactions. We present the first temporally continuous and most spatially extensive pollen-based land-cover reconstruction for Europe over the Holocene (last 11 700 cal yr BP). We describe how vegetation cover has been quantified from pollen records at a 1∘ × 1∘ spatial scale using the “Regional Estimates of VEgetation Abundance from Large Sites” (REVEALS) model. REVEALS calculates estimates of past regional vegetation cover in proportions or percentages. REVEALS has been applied to 1128 pollen records across Europe and part of the eastern Mediterranean–Black Sea–Caspian corridor (30–75∘ N, 25∘ W–50∘ E) to reconstruct the percentage cover of 31 plant taxa assigned to 12 plant functional types (PFTs) and 3 land-cover types (LCTs). A new synthesis of relative pollen productivities (RPPs) for European plant taxa was performed for this reconstruction. It includes multiple RPP values (≥2 values) for 39 taxa and single values for 15 taxa (total of 54 taxa). To illustrate this, we present distribution maps for five taxa (Calluna vulgaris, Cerealia type (t)., Picea abies, deciduous Quercus t. and evergreen Quercus t.) and three land-cover types (open land, OL; evergreen trees, ETs; and summer-green trees, STs) for eight selected time windows. The reliability of the REVEALS reconstructions and issues related to the interpretation of the results in terms of landscape openness and human-induced vegetation change are discussed. This is followed by a review of the current use of this reconstruction and its future potential utility and development. REVEALS data quality are primarily determined by pollen count data (pollen count and sample, pollen identification, and chronology) and site type and number (lake or bog, large or small, one site vs. multiple sites) used for REVEALS analysis (for each grid cell). A large number of sites with high-quality pollen count data will produce more reliable land-cover estimates with lower standard errors compared to a low number of sites with lower-quality pollen count data. The REVEALS data presented here can be downloaded from https://doi.org/10.1594/PANGAEA.937075 (Fyfe et al., 2022). </jats:p

A 9000 year record of cyclic vegetation changes identified in a montane peatland deposit located in the Eastern Carpathians (central-Eastern Europe): Autogenic succession or regional climatic influences?

We present a high-resolution, continuous plant macrofossil remains record complemented by a pollen sequence from Tăul Muced bog, in the Eastern Carpathian Mountains (Romania). The record spans the last 9000 years and we test whether peatland development in the Eastern Carpathians is linked to climate change or to autogenic succession. We find that Sphagnum magellanicum was the dominant peat-forming species for ca. 8000 years but we also identify ten phases of increased representation of Eriophorum vaginatum at approximately 8100, 7550, 6850, 6650, 5900, 4650, 3150, 1950, 1450, 750 cal yr. BP. Visual inspection and wavelet analysis show that the episodic increases in the relative abundances of Eriophorum vaginatum were simultaneous with decreased abundances of Sphagnum magellanicum and Sphagnum angustifolium. Comparison with published palaeoclimatic records in this region suggests that these cyclical successions of S. magellanicum and E. vaginatum appear to be primarily a result of climate changes, with E. vaginatum developing mainly during dry phases and S. magellanicum during wetter periods. We therefore suggest that the development of this peatland was largely influenced by changing climatic conditions, although the role of autogenic plant succession cannot be excluded. Our results show the value of ombrotrophic peat deposits as archives of past climate change