The relationship between local loop unbundling and the deployment of alternative broadband networks: An empirical analysis

This paper means to add to empirical research on the impact of local loop unbundling (LLU) on broadband networks. In particular, it focuses on broadband investment made by entrants. Starting from late Nineties telecommunications incumbents of several European Union countries have been required to unbundle their local loops. While there is a general consensus on the negative or null impact of unbundling obligations on incumbents' investment, research on the relationship between LLU and new entrants' investment, albeit growing, has not yet reached a coherent body of results. We have tested two propositions. First, service-based entry, which relies on LLU, paves the way to new entrants' subsequent investment in broadband systems (i.e. ladder of investment theory). Second, the price charged for local loop should increase over time in order to have a significant investment in alternative platforms (i.e. the transitory entry assistance theory). The empirical analysis is carried out on a sample of 27 European countries (2002-2009 period). We have collected country-level data on broadband lines and LLU policy indicators. The preliminary results suggest that service-based entry does not lead entrants to a subsequent facility-based entry, casting some doubts on the ladder of investment theory. The short ladder version of the theory has received confirmation instead. At the same time, an increasing price of local loop is not found to stimulate the entrants' investment in alternative broadband networks. --investment,competition,access regulation,broadband networks,unbundling local loop

Impact of M&A on the R&D process. An empirical analysis of the role of technological and market relatedness, The

While the impact of M&A on R&D and innovation examined at the aggregate level left inconclusive evidence, we find that at the level of the R&D process both the technological and the market relatedness between the target and the acquirer are helpful dimensions to identify effects. Using information on 31 in-depth cases of individual M&A deals we show that technological relatedness between M&A partners directly affects the inputs and organizational structure of the R&D process. M&A partners that operate in the same technological fields tend to reduce their R&D effort and rationalize the R&D process after the M&A compared to firms active in complementary technological fields that merge. These firms will furthermore face less technological competition in the technology market, but risk creating a more bureaucratic R&D process with a less motivated workforce. Market relatedness between partners, while having comparable aggregate effects on the R&D process, operates on different dimensions of the R&D process. Former rivals that engage in a M&A are significantly less likely to expand into new R&D fields or leverage their technological competences across the products and markets of the new entity. Non-rival firms that join forces, in contrast, significantly increase R&D output and productivity through these activities.M&A; R&D; scale and scope; market relatedness; technological relatedness;

The energy-efficient transformation of EU business enterprises: Adapting policies to contextual factors

Business contexts differ in their ability to foster the energy-efficient transformation (EET) of enterprises. Accordingly, energy efficiency policies have to be adapted to different situations. The present paper analyzes the relationships between the EET of European Union (EU) business end-users and three contextual factors, i.e. high energy prices, stringency of regulations, and society's alertness toward environment conservation. Enterprises from 9 EU Member States have been grouped according to country, industry and size. The final sample includes 256 enterprise classes, and the model controls for the innovation propensity and energy intensity of each enterprise class. Our results show that regulatory stringency is the most impactful contextual factor, while the environmental alertness of society does not have a significant effect. Concerns over energy costs have not been found to drive EET per se, but more energy-intensive enterprise classes are more likely to react to high energy prices. We discuss the implications of our results for the EU governments that are currently monitoring and refining the transposition of the 2012 Energy Efficiency Directive

Barriers and Drivers in the Adoption of Advanced Wastewater Treatment Technologies: a Comparative Analysis of Italian Utilities

The adoption of new environmentally-friendly technologies is becoming a key issue in both public debate and policy arenas. The paper focuses on innovation adoption by wastewater utilities, and investigates why stringent environmental regulations are not sufficient to foster it. The adoption of advanced wastewater treatment technologies is made complex by the sunk nature of highly specific infrastructures, and the consequent exposure of utilities to political and institutional influences. In addition, it requires the involvement of various actors (utilities, suppliers, contractors), and is influenced by various stakeholders (communities, business users, citizens’ associations) that generally have no aligned objectives. With reference to the aforementioned theoretical background, our paper develops and analyzes a conceptual framework that unfolds over two dimensions: (a) the role played by firm-specific characteristics, i.e. technological and organizational capabilities and managerial professionalism; (b) the influence of community-level factors, i.e. citizens’ voice and pressure exerted by local stakeholders. We investigate these issues through multiple descriptive case studies based on semi-structured interviews with the CEOs and top managers of 11 wastewater utilities operating in a region in North-Italy. The results suggest that firm-specific resources could spur wastewater utilities into adopting innovation, despite an adverse institutional environment. At the same time, on the community-level side, the analysis shows that residents and local businesses are able to mobilize resources and exert pressure to either drive or hinder the adoption of water innovations

Food Waste Causes in Fruit and Vegetables Supply Chains

Fruit and vegetables are a core component of healthy diets, but horticultural production and distribution activities suffer from a high incidence of surplus food and food waste. The intrinsic perishability of products as well recurring pests, diseases and contamination events are since long recognized to be primary reasons for fruit and vegetables wastage, but a more thorough knowledge of causes, including external events and internal strategies and practices, is necessary to design and implement waste reduction strategies. However, literature on waste causes in fruit and vegetables supply chains is rather fragmented. Most existing studies focus on single products, single deterioration mechanisms or single reuse or recycling choices, and hardly ever investigate more than one stage of the fruit and vegetables supply chain. The main objective of the paper is to offer an instrument for identifying in a comprehensive way the possible origin points and root issues behind food waste generation in the stages of fruit and vegetables supply chains. The research is conducted through the application of two methods. A first phase consists in a deep literature review, whose results are summarized in the so-called Causes Framework. This qualitative instrument shows the possible sources of fruit and vegetables surplus and waste, highlighting for each supply chain stage the high-priority causes and for each cause the fundamental root issue. The second research phase is a case study that shows how the Framework can be applied to pinpoint the most significant causes for specific supply chains. The unit of analysis is the supply chain of an Italian PGI pear. Primary information is gathered from 6 enterprises through 7 semi-structured interviews. The most critical causes of surplus and waste generation in the focal supply chain are found as the intersection between interview answers and Framework predictions. The paper integrates sparse pieces of knowledge on the processes of food waste generation in fruit and vegetables supply chains, and offers an instrument that may support private and public decision-makers in the reduction of horticultural waste

Multinational enterprises and the provision of collective goods in developing countries under formal and informal institutional voids. The case of electricity in Sub-Saharan Africa

Despite their unprecedented growth, developing countries still face severe problems in the provision of collective goods. Electricity, whose provision is scarce or unreliable in most developing regions, especially in Sub-Saharan Africa, is an emblematic case. The reason for this shortage is not only imputable to the lack of effective formal institutions, but also to the inefficacy of informal institutions in enabling alternative solutions for the production, transmission and distribution of electricity. We claim that in this context of “double institutional void”, foreign direct investment (FDI) and multinational enterprises (MNEs) can play a decisive role. However, their effectiveness depends on both the formal and informal institutional proximity between the home and the host countries. Our empirical analysis relies on panel data models run on a sample of pairs of home-host countries, the latter of which are all from Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), observed from 2005 to 2011

Reducing food waste in food manufacturing companies

Putting unsold food at good use is clearly a high-priority option according to the Food Waste Hierarchy, but we still know relatively little about the antecedents, strategies, and processes that make it possible within companies. This paper aims at explaining how food manufacturers can prevent the degradation of generated surplus food into waste. Based on an extensive literature review and 4 exploratory case studies, research questions are formulated about (i) available avenues for managing surplus food, and (ii) internal drivers that make these avenues viable and efficient. In order to adapt, refine and corroborate the conceptual framework, the research conducts 10 descriptive case studies of Italian food manufacturers. Results from the cross-case analysis highlight the multiplicity of reuse and redistribution options, and their viability over the product shelf life. The analysis also shows that a structured surplus food control system and partnerships with food aid organizations are necessary to reduce food waste

Smart Metering, Water Pricing and Social Media to Stimulate Residential Water Efficiency: Opportunities for the SmartH2O Project

Abstract The SmartH2O project aims to provide water utilities, municipalities and citizens with an ICT enabled platform to design, develop and implement better water management policies using innovative metering, social media and pricing mechanisms. This project has as a working hypothesis that high data quality obtained from smart meters and communicable through social media and other forms of interaction could be used to design and implement innovative and effective water pricing policies. Planned case studies in the UK and Switzerland are introduced. We anticipate that SmartH20 research outcomes will be of use to those interested in linking smart metering, social media and smart pricing approaches to achieve more sustainable water management outcomes

Desarrollo de productos cárnicos con bajo contenido en sodio, adicionados con sustancias prebióticas y microorganismos potencialmente probióticos

El objetivo del trabajo es desarrollar nuevas formulaciones de productos cárnicos con bajo contenido de sodio, adicionados con sustancias prebióticas y bacterias potencialmente probióticas. Los productos cárnicos crudo-curados se elaborarán con dos tipos de microorganismos estárters: comerciales e indígenas (aislados de fábricas de chacinados y seleccionadas por sus capacidades probióticas in vitro), con diferentes concentraciones de cloruro de sodio (entre 2,5% y 0,5%), y con diferentes concentraciones de fibras de cítricos (entre 0,5% y 5,0%). Los ensayos se realizarán a nivel escala piloto y en condiciones de producción industrial de volúmenes controlados. Se compararán los atributos básicos de calidad, de los productos elaborados en los ensayos con una formulación de origen comercial para determinar similitudes y mejoras. Para dicho estudio se realizarán las siguientes determinaciones analíticas: pH, color, TPA (análisis instrumental de perfil de textura), humedad, proteínas y lípidos totales, contenido de sodio, recuento de microorganismos probióticos (determinación de viabilidad en el proceso y produto final) y, complementariamente, se llevará a cabo la evaluación sensorial de los productos. A través del proyecto se pretende atender la demanda de los consumidores, con mayor variedad de productos que posean características que sean benéficas para la salud.Fil: Aleu, Gonzalo. Universidad Católica de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias Agropecuarias; ArgentinaFil: Zogbi, Ana Paola. Universidad católica de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias Químicas; Argentin