228 research outputs found
Aligning innovative banks’ sustainability strategies with customer expectations and perceptions: The CSR feedback framework
No full textIn the ever-evolving banking landscape, effectively addressing sustainability concerns while meeting customer expectations is essential. This study introduces an innovative Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Feedback Framework designed to align the banks' sustainability strategies with customer perceptions and expectations. The framework utilizes a comprehensive approach by integrating customer feedback on CSR through a survey-based methodology grounded in the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) guidelines. It features the novel CSR Feedback Matrix to evaluate the degree to which a bank's sustainability strategy aligns with customer expectations and satisfaction, while also comparing these factors against those of competitors within the industry. Additionally, the framework employs the TOPSIS technique to calculate a Critical CSR Score (CCS), ranking sustainability aspects based on their level of criticality. The findings reveal key areas where banks can enhance their CSR efforts to better meet customer requirements. Furthermore, the analysis of customer segmentation by demographic factors provides actionable insights for developing targeted CSR strategies tailored to diverse customer needs and preferences. This research contributes to the ongoing dialogue regarding sustainability strategies from a customer-centric perspective, providing practical guidance for managers to foster positive customer relationships while advancing corporate responsibility. (c) 2024 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Espa & ntilde;a, S.L.U. on behalf of Journal of Innovation & Knowledge. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/
La competizione nelle reti interconnesse: aspetti teorici ed applicativi nel settore della telefonia internazionale
No full textL’evoluzione dei settori industriali caratterizzati dalla presenza di reti infrastrutturali verso contesti oligopolistici ha accresciuto la necessità dell’interconnessione e, nel contempo, ha aumentato la complessità delle interazioni strategiche fra imprese. Oggetto di ricerca della tesi è proprio l’analisi delle scelte strategiche di imprese concorrenti in reti interconnesse e lo studio delle loro interazioni. Tali interazioni strategiche rappresentano un fenomeno complesso. Infatti, la struttura delle reti interconnesse è complicata dalla modalità di accesso che è di tipo “two way”, largamente trattata in letteratura, tra gli altri, da Laffont, Tirole e Armstrong. Inoltre, le imprese appartenenti a reti interconnesse hanno a disposizione due variabili decisionali nella scelta delle loro strategie: il prezzo all’utenza finale e la tariffa d’interconnessione.
Tra i settori che si caratterizzano per la presenza di reti infrastrutturali, principalmente quelli dei servizi di pubblica utilità, si è scelto, come oggetto di studio, quello della telefonia fissa internazionale, poiché presenta alcune rilevanti peculiarità. E’ interessante, infatti, l’analisi dell’interconnessione tra operatori appartenenti a due Stati che possono essere differenti sotto vari punti di vista: perché caratterizzati da diversi contesti di mercato, vincoli legislativi, dimensioni dei bacini d’utenza. E’ interessante, quindi, analizzare come i cambiamenti di una variabile microeconomica di un Paese derivanti sia dalle scelte strategiche dei singoli operatori sia da interventi di tipo regolatorio possano causare molteplici effetti nei confronti degli operatori del Paese ad esso interconnesso.
Nel settore della telefonia internazionale la concorrenza si svolge su due stadi: a livello nazionale per conquistare gli utenti dei servizi telefonici internazionali, e a livello internazionale, per stipulare gli accordi più convenienti con gli operatori esteri relativi alla terminazione delle chiamate internazionali. Tale contesto competitivo è stato modellizzato al fine di indagare l’interazione economica tra gli operatori dei diversi Paesi e si sono analizzate le relazioni esistenti tra le scelte strategiche di operatori appartenenti a Paesi diversi. In particolare si è considerata una struttura di mercato asimmetrica poiché rispecchia l’evidenza empirica che caratterizza molti Paesi industrializzati, dove il contesto competitivo è rappresentato dalla presenza di un incumbent sul mercato (normalmente l’ex monopolista).
Il lavoro di tesi si articola in diversi step. In primis, definite come variabili decisionali il prezzo all’utenza finale e la tariffa d’interconnessione, si individuano le possibili scelte strategiche adottabili dagli operatori di telefonia internazionale. In secondo luogo, si analizzano quali sono gli effetti, in termini di profitto e di quote di mercato, derivanti dalle strategie adottate dagli operatori aventi dimensioni relative diverse. Più nello specifico si analizzano le strategie che l’incumbent potrebbe attuare al fine di ostacolare la contendibilità del mercato, richiedendo di conseguenza un intervento regolatorio.The evolution of the infrastructurial industries toward oligopolistic markets has increased the necessity of the interconnection and the complexity of the strategic interactions among enterprises. Object of this thesis is the analysis of the strategic choices of enterprises that operate in interconnected networks and the study of their interactions. Such strategic interactions represent a complex phenomenon. In fact, the interconnected networks are characterized by "two way" access that is largely treated in literature (Laffont, Tirole and Armstrong). Moreover, the interconnected networks have two key variables in the choice of their strategies: the retail price and the interconnection charge.
Among the sectors of public utilities, I have chosen, as object of study, that of the international fixed telephony, since it has some important peculiarities. In fact it is interesting the analysis of the interconnection among networks belonging to two States different under various points of view: market contexts, legislative ties, catchment area dimensions. Therefore, it is interesting the analysis of the impact of microeconomic variables of a Country on network’s choices in the interconnected Country
Online corporate communication: Should national culture matter?
No full textIntroductionThe purpose of this paper is to investigate how the culture of a nation influences online corporate communication, focusing on the assessment of the culturability of business websites. Although the Internet constitutes a global phenomenon, cultural filters influence its use at the local level, ultimately determining a more or less favorable attitude toward a given website. Understanding and analysing the cultural adaptation of online communication is crucial as it has the potential to greatly influence how customers perceive and respond to the graphic and content elements. MethodsBuilding upon Hofestede's and Hall's theories, a content analysis technique was used to code the cultural markers and new indicators have been created to allow the association of the graphic elements and the contents of the websites with the cultural characteristics. The countries chosen as case studies are India and Australia, which present significant cultural differences and allow highlighting of the practical implications deriving from the cultural adaptation of the website design. ResultsThe results of this paper show that the company websites analyzed are designed to incorporate the cultural nuances of the target country. In particular, on the Australian websites, there is a greater frequency of cultural markers referring to individualism, masculinity, and uncertainty avoidance compared to Indian ones. On the contrary, Indian websites show more cultural markers referring to power distance, high context, and polychronic characteristics than Australian ones. This paper overcomes the qualitative approaches of the previous literature, developing new indicators for website analysis and providing a quantitative comparison with Hofstede and Hall frameworks. DiscussionThis work provides a guideline for companies, analysts, and the different professionals involved in online communication and web design. More specifically, they have to be aware of the cultural challenges when they operate outside the national boundaries, by designing a culturally usable website in one of the countries chosen for this study
An Analysis of the Impact on Welfare deriving from the New European Regulation of International Roaming
No full textThe new EU regulation on international mobile
roaming, which has recently come into force, and the introduction
of the ‘Eurotariff’ have both had an impact on the welfare of
consumers as well as on producer surplus. The aim of this paper
is to analyse such effects at a national level in the 27 EU States.
In particular this study enables the variation in welfare to be
calculated according to the type of international call (Calls Home,
Local Calls, or Received Calls) and to the market segment
(Business or Residential). The paper also examines the welfare
trend over the initial three year period after the regulation is put
into force.
The analysis is carried out to identify which nations will
benefit most from the intervention of the European Community,
and also to evaluate the relationship in each individual nation
between the level of market maturity and an increase in the level
of welfare
Chinese website design: Communication as a mirror of culture
No full textCompanies now depend on the internet for internal and external communications, however the web is not necessarily neutral. The multitude of company websites within the global system present varying linguistic, cultural and communication characteristics, which determine different experiences depending on the local culture of the user. The design of culturally appropriate websites is viewed as essential to communication, mainly for marketing. This article therefore aims at analysing the impact of cultural characteristics on web design and marketing communication. China presents a vast market and internet population, with specific cultural characteristics, and for these reasons is the subject chosen for study. The study develops a methodology based on an adaptation of Hofstede’s and Hall’s cultural dimensions for purposes of analysing website content. The methodology makes it possible to measure the projection of underlying cultural characteristics in website design.The content analysis of 75 websites Chinese companies quoted on the Hong Kong and Shanghai stock markets reveals that their design reflects local cultural characteristics. Furthermore, the analysis of the Chinese and English versions of the websites reveals that there the latter provide virtually no adaptation to an international clientele, particularly as concerns the indicators of Collectivism, Uncertainty Avoidance and Long Term Orientation
A cross-cultural study on countries' environmental performance: The influence of religion
No full textAlthough numerous scientific studies have extensively analyzed religion's impact on environmental performance at the firm level, the literature on environmental effects at a country level is relatively poor. This paper aims to fill this gap by studying how the dimensions of national culture, including religion, impact a country's sustainability performance in 96 countries. We apply Geert Hofstede's cross-cultural dimensions and evaluate countries' sustainability performance using the EPI indicator, which provides a comprehensive environmental overview, including indicators such as climate change, environmental health, and ecosystem vitality. Additionally, to provide a more comprehensive framework for the sustainability performance of countries, we conducted a comparative analysis using the SDG index scores encompassing 1056 country-year observations. Our findings suggest that the impact on a country's environmental performance varies according to the cultural dimension, mainly, the Christian religion positively influences national sustainability performance
Nonlinear optimization and related topics
No full textProc. of the Int. School of Mathematics G. Stampacchia, 26st Workshop: Nonlinear Optimization and Applications, Erice, Italy, 199
The investments in energy distribution networks: Does company ownership matter?
No full textThis paper revolves around the challenges currently tackled by the energy distribution sector, where infrastructural investments play a vital role in both increasing the industry’s internal efficiency and developing national economies. In natural gas and electricity sectors, the liberalisation process began in Europe at the end of the 1990s has triggered a change in the industry’s competitive framework, encouraging investments by companies aiming at improving their industrial and organisational efficiency. At the same time, liberalisation also brought about a change in the ownership of firms: Private and mixed ownership companies are now actively participating in the market, together with state-owned enterprises. In the light of these significant changes, this study is aimed at establishing whether the companies’ propensity to invest in infrastructures is connected with a specific form of ownership. So far, this specific topic has not been thoroughly investigated by empirical studies; this work tries to fill this gap by carrying out an empirical analysis on a sample of Italian energy distribution utilities operating in the natural gas and electricity sector
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