1,354,313 research outputs found
Evaluating the use of TCM through the theory of planned behavior: A consumer survey analysis
No full textAccountability through Sustainability Data Governance: Reconfiguring Reporting to Better Account for the Digital Acceleration
No full textAccountability assessment is a highly relevant challenge for companies nowadays. The COVID-19 pandemic prompted a digital acceleration in business environments, which in turn brought more focus on sustainability practices that could help organizations better demonstrate their accountability, thus making them more resilient to the ever-changing socio-economic context. Therefore, this paper aims to evaluate how to further improve corporate accountability (on a strategic and operational level), taking advantage of the digitalization changes that companies are being forced to go through and applying them to the sustainability evaluation process, including the reporting as its final output. The first research outcome is a combined framework, based on data governance and sustainability literature models, seeking to optimize the manageability of sustainability data. The second outcome is a matrix, based on a content analysis of 20 sustainability reports, representing eight possible types of behavior that companies adopt when integrating digitalization practices into their sustainability evaluation process. The aim is to explore how the communication of digital activities could refine the diligence of the sustainability assessment process, with disclosure representing its last step. Finally, the ‘leading’ case was broken down into the general strategic components that could potentially be included in a balanced data-sustainability reporting strategy
Implications of COVID-19 policies on the sustainable corporate practices of European firms
Get PDFPurpose: This study aims to analyze how mixes of COVID-19 policy responses are shaping the context in which companies will compete in the following years, defining how the crisis might impact firms' ability to keep their commitments to sustainable practices. Design/methodology/approach: European country-performance data for the years 2019 and 2020 were grouped into indicators of macro sustainability, then cross-analyzed against the policies adopted during the period (also grouped based on their impacts on sustainability pillars), using correlations, factor analysis and clustering. Findings: The influence of traditional sustainability determinants was reframed according to the novel context shaped by the policy responses to the pandemic crisis. The social and digitalization aspects gained the most relevance and appeared interconnected, with digitalization of employment attaining overall more traction. Moreover, changes in the leadership within sustainability domains were observed for each identified country-cluster, due to newly implemented emergency policies. In fact, environmental innovation, digitalization and social support policies appeared to be the main variables to be impacted by the intensity of the policy efforts. Practical implications: Businesses monitoring the developments of sustainability policies closely, will observe novel trends in technological applications.Social implicationsPolicymakers and researchers may gauge the efficacy of policies against the COVID-19 crisis in the domain of sustainable development and resilience. Originality/value: This paper provides a cross-analysis of quantitative macroeconomic and quantified policy responses to the 2020 pandemic crisis, linking each indicator to the pillars of sustainability that were relevant for companies between the crucial pandemic outbreak years 2019 and 2020
Avenues for corporate sustainability management: guiding SMEs in their strategic journey towards a sustainable long-term growth
Get PDFL'impatto potenziale delle piccole e medie imprese (PMI) sullo sviluppo sostenibile globale è considerevole e deve derivare da un programma di responsabilità e sostenibilità d’impresa (RSI) strutturato internamente. Questo, tuttavia, non è un compito facile, data, da un lato, l'esistenza di barriere interne che caratterizzano le operazioni delle PMI e, dall'altro, le due nuove sfide mondiali emergenti dell'accelerazione digitale e della crisi derivante dall'emergenza pandemica da Covid-19. Inoltre, queste due questioni globali si rafforzano a vicenda e mettono le PMI in una situazione rischiosa in termini di continuità. Ma anche la sostenibilità d'impresa, che sta diventando sempre più una leva strategica di cui ci si aspetta che le aziende di tutte le dimensioni si avvalgano, presenta rischi simili. È in questo contesto che la tesi cerca di trovare delle soluzioni alle barriere interne e alle sfide esterne che impediscono alle PMI di diventare leader di successo del movimento per lo sviluppo sostenibile. Gli elementi di resilienza alla crisi, coordinamento delle attività di RSI e reporting, digitalizzazione e leadership sembrano avere la capacità intrinseca di guidare lo sviluppo sostenibile di un'azienda nel lungo termine. Tuttavia, per realizzare ciò, devono essere gestiti mediante procedure sistematiche e diventare parte del quadro strategico della sostenibilità all'interno delle aziende. Lo scopo di questa tesi è, dunque, quello di analizzare ciascuno di questi aspetti che sono strettamente legati al tema della sostenibilità aziendale (fornendo output che potrebbero supportare le aziende nel loro percorso di transizione verso la sostenibilità), e che le PMI oggi trovano difficili da affrontare perché il contesto in cui operano diventa sempre più complesso e iniziano a formarsi dei divari tra ciò che ci si aspetta dall’operatività delle PMI e la loro effettiva capacità. La struttura della tesi è composta da quattro capitoli che seguono una prospettiva macro-micro e ogni capitolo adotta una metodologia di ricerca diversa per esplorare gli elementi sopra menzionati. I risultati possono essere utilizzati principalmente dalle aziende che cercano di avviare o migliorare un programma esistente di gestione della sostenibilità. Nonostante il progetto di ricerca sia principalmente rivolto alle PMI, poiché le best practice analizzate sono state principalmente quelle delle grandi aziende, anche queste ultime potranno dunque trarre ispirazione per le loro operazioni di sostenibilità. Per quanto riguarda le PMI, il vantaggio principale sarebbe quello di trovare soluzioni per evitare che le loro barriere interne e le questioni mondiali ne compromettano la capacità di impegno verso un approccio di CSR correttamente strutturato.The potential impact of small-medium enterprises (SMEs) on the global sustainable development is considerable and must stem from an internally structured corporate sustainability and responsibility (CSR) program. This, however, is no easy task, given, on one hand, the existence of internal barriers that characterize SME operations, and on the other, the two newly emerging world-wide challenges of digital acceleration and the crisis resulting from the Covid-19 pandemic. Moreover, these two global matters are mutually reinforcing and put SMEs in a risky situation in terms of continuity. But so does corporate sustainability, which is increasingly becoming a strategic lever that companies of all sizes are expected to make use of. It is within this context that the thesis seeks to find solutions to the internal barriers and external challenges that prevent SMEs from successfully becoming the leaders of the sustainable development movement. The elements of resilience to crisis, coordination of CSR activities and reporting, digitalization, and leadership all seem to have the intrinsic ability to guide the sustainable development of a company in the long term. However, to do so, they must be managed through systematic procedures and become part of the sustainability strategic framework within companies. The aim of this thesis is, thus, to analyze each of these aspects that closely relate to the topic of corporate sustainability (providing outputs that could support companies in their sustainability transition journey), and which SMEs nowadays find difficult to deal with because the context in which they operate becomes increasingly complex and gaps begin to form between what is expected of them and their actual capacity. The structure of the thesis consists of four chapters that follow a macro-micro perspective, each chapter adopting a different research methodology to focus on the above-mentioned elements. The results can be of use mainly by the companies seeking to initiate or improve and existing sustainability management program. Despite the research project being primarily targeted at SMEs, since the best practices analyzed have been mainly those of larger corporations, the latter will also be able to receive some inspiration for their sustainability operations. As for SMEs, the main advantage would be to find solutions to prevent their internal barriers and worldwide issues tamper their ability to engage in a correctly structured CSR approach
Managing corporate sustainability and responsibility efficiently: a review of existing literature on business groups and networks
Get PDFGiven the global relevance of business groups (BG) and networks as efficient organizational forms for corporate sustainability and responsibility systems (CSR), and seeing that management control systems (MCS) play a pivotal role in transmitting authority to CSR and formalizing a sustainability organizational culture, this paper aims to review the available literature in order to investigate efficient adoptions of CSR by BGs or networks. Both organizational forms have positive effects on CSR development, on three levels: (a) setting industry standards (macro-external environment); (b) stimulating sustainability-oriented innovations (mezzo-member firms); (c) reputational gains, CSR expenses mitigation, and optimization of organizational capabilities (micro-individual SMEs). The studies on SMEs were useful in identifying current sustainability practices: both partial (social, environmental) and complete sustainability systems were susceptible to being integrated with management accounting, making them an almost implicit tool for proper CSR. Finally, by gathering the empirical literature on sustainability transitions of networks and groups, it was possible to trace a comprehensive introductory plan that operators could resort to for initial guidance. The six steps of this process are (1) project initiation, (2) preliminary actions, (3) change management decision, (4) firm-level activities, (5) auditing, (6) transition to territorial social responsibility (optional)
Il Piano Nazionale Integrato per l’Energia ed il Clima (PNIEC). Analisi e scenari per l’industria nazionale
Get PDFIl Piano Nazionale Integrato per l’Energia ed il Clima (PNIEC) è uno strumento di politica industriale che ogni Stato Membro deve adottare per realizzare il processo di transizione energetica dell’Unione Europea. Il PNIEC italiano è stato pubblicato a gennaio 2020 e verrà completamente revisionato entro il 30 giugno 2023. A seguito delle politiche e degli interventi normativi che l’UE ha recentemente adottato in tema di energia e clima, il PNIEC risulta ormai obsoleto nella sua attuale formulazione. La revisione del Piano costituisce un momento cruciale per delineare la strategia di lungo periodo su cui innescare future politiche energetiche, ambientali e industriali per la crescita del Paese. In questo Policy Brief si analizza l’evoluzione del PNIEC anche alla luce del dibattito sulla revisione di obiettivi e misure. Si approfondisce una selezione di scenari che evidenziano il ruolo centrale dell’elettrificazione dei consumi da Fonti Energetiche Rinnovabili (FER) nel processo di decarbonizzazione. Infine, vengono formulate una serie di raccomandazioni che dovrebbero informare la revisione del PNIEC, con riferimento particolare a principi, obiettivi, approccio e attori coinvolti. Il successo del nuovo Piano e il raggiungimento degli obiettivi climatici dipenderanno soprattutto dall’introduzione di politiche rigorose e di lungo periodo per la diffusione rapida e capillare delle FER, e la promozione della decarbonizzazione e dell’indipendenza energetica
Verso una mobilità decarbonizzata: ostacoli, policy e buone pratiche
No full textL’elevata quota di emissioni climalteranti di cui è responsabile il settore dei trasporti, lo rende un oggetto primario delle politiche europee per il raggiungimento della neutralità climatica al 2050 e la transizione verso una mobilità totalmente sostenibile. I vari ambiti che connotano il settore dei trasporti presentano leve di intervento differenti, ma, nella loro complessità, tutte equamente valide per arrivare alla decarbonizzazione della mobilità nazionale ed internazionale. Lo scenario italiano si caratterizza per una serie di problematiche e storie di successo degne di un approfondimento a sé stante. Questo Policy Brief presenta, in una prima parte, le principali direttrici di intervento della mobilità sostenibile, declinando in maniera sintetica per ciascuna gli impatti emissivi per il Paese. Si esamina poi in maniera più approfondita la mobilità leggera in Italia, in termini di barriere che potrebbero ostacolarne l’elettrificazione, quale uno dei principali interventi di decarbonizzazione. Le sezioni successive propongono una rassegna delle principali iniziative di policy europee (a partire dal Green Deal) e nazionali (principalmente declinate dal Green Deal) a supporto della decarbonizzazione del settore dei trasporti nella sua interezza, nonché uno studio delle best practices di enti italiani privati e pubblici legate ai trasporti locali, privati, marittimi e aerei. Alcune riflessioni conclusive con raccomandazioni di policymaking completano il brief
Assessing costs, benefits, and cost-effectiveness in TCM
No full textThe chapter intends to fill the gap in evidence on the potential benefits of
introducing Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) practices, with respect to
its costs. In this regard, the different economic evaluations for the healthcare
sector were described. Based on the results of the literature review,
which showed a relative lack for standardized cost-benefit tools and methods
examining the potential positive impact of TCM, a possible approach
was structured, describing the suggested steps and necessary tools that
would have to be adopted in order to run a complete appraisal of the costeffectiveness
of TCM. The steps of the evaluation include gathering cost
information; identifying benefits, computing such CBA outcome measures
as net benefits and benefit-cost ratios; running cost-effectiveness analyses
(CEAs) for additional confirmation of the results through the cost-effectiveness,
reversed cost-effectiveness, and incremental cost-effectiveness
ratios; and applying additional cost-utility analysis (CUA) tools in order to
obtain the cost per quality-adjusted life year (QALY) and reversed cost per
QALY outcome measures. The results could also be represented visually
by using the incremental cost-effectiveness plane and cost-effectiveness
acceptability curve
When is research and development more effective in times of crisis? The role of environmental policies
No full textPurposeIn times of crisis, innovation management and specifically Research and Development (R&D) investments are critical to temper company losses and stimulate higher revenues. Environmental policies, for their potential to stimulate environmental innovations and efficient management of resources, may hold a magnifying role in this relationship. By relying on the distinction between regulatory policies and institutional incentives, this paper argues about the moderating role of environmental policies between a firm's R&D expenses and its performance.Design/methodology/approachHypotheses are tested on data collected from a sample of small and medium-sized Chinese enterprises after the 2008 financial crisis.FindingsFindings reveal positive moderating effects of both regulatory pressures and institutional incentives, with a more significant effect of government support. The highest impact is reached when both these types of policies are present.Originality/valueThe theoretical and methodological relevance of this distinction, the importance of an appropriate mix of environmental policies in policymaking and their resilience building role in stimulating environmental innovations in the aftermath of crises are discussed
Structural Changes and Policies in China: From the New Dream to COVID-19 Era
No full textThe work sheds light on the significant reforms that China has undertaken over the past 40 years and which, starting from the 1978 ‘Open Door Policy’, stimulated a massive structural shift of the Chinese economy and society. The twenty first century pandemic happened at a linchpin moment for China, when the country was bridging several contentious structural changes due to the ‘New Normal’ paradigm and the more recent trade war with the US. In response to the Covid-19 outbreak and in the light of the upcoming release of the new 5-year plan, Chinese authorities promptly adopted a series of coordinated measures to support the national economy and engaged in a new long-term planning, the so-called “Dual Circulation Strategy”. From the New Dream to the Covid-19 era, innovation and industrial policies are presented through the lens of political economy
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