The use of social media for improving energy consumption awareness and efficiency: An overview of existing tools

Raising consumers’ awareness of energy consumption is one of the first steps in encouraging the adoption of energy saving behaviours that result in energy efficiency. Green information systems are becoming recognised as a solution to many environmental problems although information technology (e.g. disposal of IT devices) has also been associated with causing detrimental effects on the environment. Researchers and practitioners have begun to focus on Green ICT but there is little scholarly research on the use of ICT tools such as social media from an energy efficiency context to raise consumer awareness and improve their engagement in tackling environmental issues. Therefore, the aim of this paper is to explore the use of social media and existing tools for the interaction of people on energy saving discussions and for generating awareness and engagement (which thereby leads to energy efficiency behaviour). In this paper the authors provide a state of the art review around the concept of energy awareness, models of consumer engagement, and more importantly the use of social media in the energy efficiency context. This research is based on a desk-based normative review and seeks to provide a better understanding to both scholars and practitioners involved in the use of ICT for driving energy consumer awareness and engagement for energy efficiency.This work evolved in the context of the project DAREED (Decision support Advisor for innovative business models and useR engagement for smart Energy Efficient Districts), www.dareed.eu, a project co-funded by the EC within FP7, Grant agreement no: 609082

Goal modelling for strategic dependency analysis in destination management

Purpose: The paper suggests goal modelling as a method for the strategic analysis in tourism destinations. Destination management is quite complex and challenging and requires deep understanding of the intentions, the roles and the strategies of the various stakeholders. Methods: This paper identifies the challenges and major issues of destination management, evaluates the capacity of goal modelling to address them and demonstrates the use of goal modelling for stakeholder and strategic analysis. Results: The paper provides a holistic, multi-level modelling approach that begins with stakeholder analysis, continues with the analysis of strategic dependencies between stakeholders and ends with the analysis of the strategic alignment of the Destination Management Systems. Goal modelling is used for the analysis of the roles and functions of stakeholders, the analysis of the interdependencies between stakeholders in terms of goals, tasks and resources, the selection between alternative business configurations, and the business model and strategic analysis. Implications: Three important issues of destination management are addressed: stakeholder analysis, strategic dependency analysis, and strategic alignment of information systems. The formalism of goal modelling can provide rigor and visualization in the analysis of the complex relationships in destination management

Methodology for Process Improvement Through Basic Components and Focusing on the Resistance to Change.

This paper describes a multi-model methodology that implements a smooth and continuous process improvement, depending on the organization's business goals and allowing users to establish their improvement implementation pace. The methodology focuses on basic process components known as ‘best practices’. Besides, it covers following the topics: knowledge management and change management. The methodology description and the results of a case study on project management process are included

An analysis of bilateral project consortia in the case of Greece and Bulgaria

Interreg IV is an EU initiative financed under the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) which aims to stimulate interregional cooperation in the EU between the years 2007–2013. In this empirical paper, we offer a first analytical view on the relations and the network developed through project partnerships within the European Territorial Cooperation Programme. Our aim is to discover and understand the collaborative status of cross border projects in the two countries with regard to their priorities and targets set in Programme Interreg IV: Greece–Bulgaria 2007–2013. In particular, we analyse the characteristics of 90 projects with 329 partners in order to examine data relevant to the project’s priority axis, the number of the partners involved, the type of the partners, etc. Our analysis provides insights on the regional and organizational strategies for the development of bilateral collaboration between the organizations of the two countries and for the successful development of future actions for the strengthening of cross border collaboration.INTERREG IV yra ES iniciatyva, finansuojama iš Europos regioninės plėtros fondų, kurių tikslas yra skatinti tarpregioninį bendradarbiavimą ES 2007–2013 m. laikotarpiu. Šiame straipsnyje pateikiamas empirinis tyrimas, kurio tikslas nustatyti įgyvendinant Europos teritorinio bendradarbiavimo programą susidariusius projekto partnerystės ryšius bei tinklus. Straipsnio tikslas – nustatyti bendradarbiavimo ryšius, susidariusius tarp Graikijos ir Bulgarijos įgyvendinant tarpregioninius projektus, atsižvelgiant į jų prioritetus ir tikslus, nustatytus programoje INTERREG IV 2007–2013 m. laikotarpiui. Pagrindinis dėmesys straipsnyje yra skiriamas 90 projektų ir 329 partnerių charakteristikų analizei, siekiant išnagrinėti duomenis, susijusius su projektų prioritetinėmis kryptimis, partnerių skaičiumi, partnerių tipu ir kt. Atlikta analizė leidžia visapusiškiau pažvelgti į regionines ir organizacines strategijas, skirtas bendradarbiavimui tarp dviejų šalių institucijų stiprinti, bei numatyti jų būsimo glaudesnio bendradarbiavimo priemones

International and cross-border entrepreneurship : the case of greece and Bulgaria

Greece and Bulgaria have very different social and economic environments for entrepreneurship. In this empirical paper we use quantitative data in order to analyse the structure of the cross-border entrepreneurial and investment activities between the two countries in order to reveal the direction, the spatial concentration and the sectoral dissemination of entrepreneurial activities. Our analysis includes data relevant to the existing cross-border activities of firms, joint ventures, public-private partnerships and other forms of formal collaboration and provides interesting results on the regional and organisational strategies for the internationalisation and development of bilateral collaboration between the organisations of the two countries.Graikijos ir Bulgarijos socialinė ir ekonominė verslumo aplinka labai skirtinga. Šiame empiriniame darbe naudojame kiekybinius duomenis, siekdami išanalizuoti tarpvalstybinę dviejų šalių verslumo ir investicinės veiklos struktūrą ir atskleisti verslo veiklos kryptį, erdvinę koncentraciją ir struktūrinę sklaidą. Analizėje naudojami įmonių ir bendrijų tarptautinės veiklos, viešojo ir privačiojo sektoriaus partnerystės bei kitų formalių bendradarbiavimo formų duomenys. Rezultatai pateikia įdomią informaciją apie regionines ir organizacines internacionalizavimo ir dvišalio šių dviejų šalių organizacijų bendradarbiavimo strategijas

The Use of Goal Modelling for the Analysis of Value Co-Creation in Collaborative Networks

International audienceCollaborative networks engage their members in sharing resources, competencies and responsibilities in order to attain advanced results or common goals. This paper studiesthe relationship between thesetwo key concepts in collaborative networks, goals and collaborative value creation.Goal achievement can be seen as a value creation behavior and as a value co-creationprocedure since it is based on the collaboration and the interdependencies between actors. Therefore, goal modelling can be used for the analysis of value co-creation in collaborative settings. The paper develops a goal meta-model that describes the key concepts of value co-creation. The proposed goal meta-model can serve to the better understanding of the value creation process, the analysis of value co-creation inreal-world cases and the design and implementation of digital systems that enable value co-creation