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Flexibility markets: Q&A with project pioneers
No full textFlexibility markets are a promising tool to make better use of existing distribution grids. We analyse four pioneering projects implementing flexibility markets: Piclo Flex, Enera, GOPACS, and NODES. Based on a literature review, we develop a six-question framework. We find that all of the considered flexibility markets are operated by a third party. All projects also engage with multiple DSOs to become the standardized platform provider. Differences among the projects are found in the extent to which the flexibility markets are integrated into other existing markets, the use of reservation payments, the use of standardized products, and the way TSO-DSO cooperation is done. The answers to these questions vary for the projects because of different visions, use cases, or project maturity. Our case study analysis of four pioneering projects enriches the taxonomy and shows that practice is moving faster than the conceptual debate around flexibility markets.We acknowledge the financial support from the European Union's Horizon 2020 project INTERRFACE (grant agreement No 824330)
Analysing the impact of alternative network structures on resource-constrained schedules: Artificial and empirical experiments
No full textIn this research, we investigate an extension of the resource-constrained project scheduling problem (RCPSP) with alternatives in the project structure, the so-called RCPSP with alternative subgraphs (RCPSP-AS). The RCPSP-AS consists of a selection subproblem to decide amongst the alternatives in the project structure and a scheduling subproblem to schedule the selected activities in the resulting project structure. In case of a high number of alternatives, however, the selection subproblem might become very complex. In this research, we therefore present a two-step procedure to reduce the complexity of the selection subproblem of the RCPSP-AS. First, we construct a set of high-quality schedules and, subsequently, we analyse the selected alternatives in this set of schedules. Based on two thresholds, defined as the schedule diversity and choice frequency thresholds, we aim at reducing the number of alternatives in the problem. In doing so, the selection subproblem becomes easier to solve thanks to the lower number of alternatives to choose from, and consequently, the solution procedure to solve the RCPSP-AS should now focus on the scheduling subproblem. However, the computational experiments show that both thresholds should be set with care since the low complexity of the selection subproblem might result in some side effects. More precisely, we investigate the impact of both thresholds on the quality of the final schedule as they impact the stop criterion and the size of the neighbourhood in a solution procedure. We have developed our approach based on empirical case studies and validated the results on a large set of artificial projects.We acknowledge the support provided by the Nationale Bank van Belgie (NBB) and the Bijzonder Onderzoeksfonds (BOF) for the project, under contract number BOF12GOA021
Pertinent insights from Europe on executive compensation
No full textThroughout this article, it became clear that there is no “European way” of executive compensation as a number of geographical differences were found to be present. However, the research shows that the variance is explained by determinants such as business size, the industry in which the company operates and the share ownership structure. The article also looked at the underlying key performance indicators used for incentive systems. Not surprisingly, financial indicators were found to be most prevalent, determining on average 70% of the bonus while company size was the main driver of CEO compensation. We found that CEO compensation policies in the best performing companies, over a longer period of time, are characterized by modesty. This applies to compensation levels, the weight of incentives in the total package, and the spread between target and maximum bonus
Mode generation rules to define activity flexibility for the integrated project staffing problem with discrete time/resource trade-offs
No full textIn this paper, we study the project staffing problem with discrete time/resource trade-offs to minimise the personnel staffing budget. This staffing problem embeds activity scheduling flexibility by incorporating the project scheduling problem into the personnel staffing problem to improve the quality of the staffing plan. In addition, we introduce extra demand scheduling flexibility resulting from the design of alternative execution modes for the activities, modelled via discrete time/resource trade-offs. In this way, the project manager is able to decide on the team size and duration for every activity. We propose a two-stage methodology to first design specific alternative activity modes using heuristic rules-of-thumb and subsequently we assess the resulting quality, i.e. the staffing cost, via the integrated composition of the project schedule and associated staffing plan. The heuristic mode generation rules determine the selection of a limited set of relevant activities and modes. The computational results show that the impact of these heuristic generation rules on the staffing budget is dependent on the defined relation between different activity alternatives for a particular activity and on the estimated characteristics of the activity base modes. We show that by focusing on a particular well-chosen subset of activity alternatives or on a particular subset of activities, high-quality solutions realising most of the potential cost improvements resulting from the discrete time/resource trade-offs can be derived with a reduced effort.The computational resources (Stevin Supercomputer Infrastructure) and services used in this work were provided by the Flemish Supercomputer Center (VSC), funded by Ghent University, Research Foundation-Flanders (FWO) and the Flemish Government-department Economy, Science and Innovation (EWI)
The European energy transition : An agenda for the Twenties
No full textThis comprehensive book on the European energy transition has been written by more than 40 European leading energy- and climate experts. It reflects on the latest policy developments, as such as the Clean Energy for All Europeans Package, the Green Deal and the Climate Law
Shifting focus: Antecedents and outcomes of proactive feedback seeking from peers
No full textAre there benefits to seeking feedback from peers, or is it not worth the time and effort as employees sometimes believe? If there are benefits, does it matter in teams both with and without formal supervisors, and what contextual conditions facilitate such seeking? These questions motivate the current research. Based on the theoretical differences between peers and supervisors as targets of feedback seeking, we adopt a cost-value perspective to examine whether task interdependence and psychological safety affect the seeking of feedback from peers in a team. We also assess whether such seeking creates value for the seeker him-/herself (by having a cross-source effect on the supervisor’s evaluations) and for the collective (by impacting the team’s creativity). We test these ideas in two studies. In a sample of 209 employee-supervisor dyads (Study 1), we find that employees seek more peer feedback when tasks are interdependent, especially when they perceive their working environment as psychologically safe, and that supervisors view employees who seek more peer feedback as better team contributors. Then, in a longitudinal sample of 88 self-managed MBA consulting teams (Study 2), we find that the average level of peer feedback seeking in a team enhances the team’s creativity. Our findings highlight the power of seeking feedback from peers as well as the context factors shaping it.This research was supported by funding from Vlerick Academic Research Fund
Use of Proximal Policy Optimization for the Joint Replenishment Problem
Get PDFDeep reinforcement learning has been coined as a promising research avenue to solve sequential decision-making problems, especially if few is known about the optimal policy structure. We apply the proximal policy optimization algorithm to the intractable joint replenishment problem. We demonstrate how the algorithm approaches the optimal policy structure and outperforms two other heuristics. Its deployment in supply chain control towers can orchestrate and facilitate collaborative shipping in the Physical Internet
Meer betrokkenheid via autonomie
No full textOrganisaties moeten hun medewerkers betrekken bij de strategie en hen autonomie geven bij de uitvoering ervan. Dat leidt tot meer proactieve betrokkenheid, aldus het onderzoek van Matthias Pfisterer
Means versus goals at the starting line: Performance and conditions of effectiveness of entrepreneurial action
No full textVarious theoretical perspectives suggest that a means-oriented approach to new venture development can be a viable alternative to the conventional approach, which emphasizes predetermined goals, and that the former is favored by expert entrepreneurs. However, it is still unclear whether, and under which conditions, means-based action positively affects entrepreneurial performance and whether it would also be effective for novices. This study demonstrates the new venture performance impact of means orientation. We further contribute to various strands of entrepreneurship research by highlighting two moderating factors that are salient in the early-stage entrepreneurial process: opportunity recognition beliefs and process control practices
The unhealthy = tasty belief is associated with BMI through reduced consumption of vegetables: A cross-national and mediational analysis
No full textObesity is one of the greatest public health challenges of modern times and its prevalence is increasing worldwide. With food so abundant in developed countries, many people face a conflict between desires for short-term taste and the goal of long-term health, multiple times a day. Recent research suggests that consumers often resolve these conflicts based on their lay beliefs about the healthiness and tastiness of food. Consequently, such lay beliefs can play critical roles not just in food choice but also weight gain. In this research, we show, across six countries and through mediation analysis, that adults who believe that tasty food is unhealthy (the Unhealthy = Tasty Intuition, or "UTI"; Raghunathan, Naylor, & Hoyer 2006) are less likely to consume healthy food, and thereby have a higher body mass index (BMI). In Study 1, we conducted a cross-sectional survey in five countries (Australia, Germany, Hong Kong, India, and the UK), and found that greater strength of belief in UTI was associated with higher BMI, and this relationship was mediated by lower consumption of fruits and vegetables. The observed patterns largely converged across the sampled Western and Asian-Pacific countries. In Study 2, we teased apart the mediating role of vegetable versus fruit consumption and also addressed the issue of reversed causality by predicting BMI with a measure of UTI belief taken 30 months previously. We found that vegetable consumption, but not fruit consumption, mediated the association between UTI belief and BMI. Our findings contribute to the literature by showing how lay beliefs about food can have pervasive and long-lasting effects on dietary practices and health worldwide. Implications for public policy and health practitioners are discussed.This work was partially supported by the Research Grants Council of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China (ECS 26500116)