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1 – 10 of over 30000Kuppanan Palanisami, Krishna Reddy Kakumanu, C.R. Ranganathan and Nagothu Udaya Sekhar
Researchers and policymakers are figuring out the adaptation technologies to cope with the changing climate. Adaptation strategies for crop production followed by the farmers at…
Abstract
Purpose
Researchers and policymakers are figuring out the adaptation technologies to cope with the changing climate. Adaptation strategies for crop production followed by the farmers at selected study locations had ranged from 6-30 per cent only, and this was mainly due to lack of awareness about the actual cost associated with adaptation and non-adaptation of these strategies.
Design/methodology/approach
Hence, this study aims to address the cost of adaptation for rice using joint probability distribution of rainfall and crop prices.
Findings
Cost of adaptation varied from INR2,389 to 4,395/ha for System of Rice Intensification (SRI); INR646 to 1,121/ha for alternate wetting and drying (AWD) and INR8,144 to 8,677/ha for well irrigation (WI), whereas expected cost for not using these technologies has ranged from INR6,976 to 9,172/ha for SRI; INR4,123 7,764/ha for AWD and INR10,825 to 17,270/ha for WI. Hence, promotion of the adaptation technologies itself will minimize the income losses to the farmers.
Research limitations/implications
Even though, there are many ways for farmers (other than technology), to adapt to climate change (such as out-migration to cities, selling farm assets, focus on children’s education, etc.), this report, given the framework of the major research study undertaken, addresses only farm-level adaptation of the technologies to enhance farm income.
Originality/value
Public–private partnership in providing the technologies at cheaper costs, capacity building in handling the technologies and creating awareness about the technologies to minimize the expected cost of adaptation are suggested to improve the adoption level.
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Ling Ge, Xiaoyan Wang and Zhilin Yang
How to determine the appropriate contractual structure for an outsourcing relationship has been a major theme in the business process outsourcing (BPO) literature. Drawing on…
Abstract
Purpose
How to determine the appropriate contractual structure for an outsourcing relationship has been a major theme in the business process outsourcing (BPO) literature. Drawing on transaction cost economics, this study aims to examine how anticipated coordination and adaptation costs in a BPO relationship affect the choice of contract types. Specifically, this research categorizes contracts types (fixed-price, time and materials and hybrid contracts) based on levels of contract design comprehensiveness and flexibility to change.
Design/methodology/approach
The research setting is the BPO for a focal firm, involving a contractor. Data from 153 US companies are collected using a structured questionnaire on senior executives of functional areas of marketing, IT and finance. Hypotheses were tested using ordered probit model.
Findings
The results show that maturity is negatively associated with anticipated adaptation costs, while modularity and IT detachability are negatively related to anticipated coordination costs. Furthermore, adaptation costs have a direct impact on the choice, whereas the anticipated coordination costs do not have a significant direct impact on contract choice. The strength of adaptation costs' impact, however, is significantly reduced when coordination costs are high.
Originality/value
This study explicitly examines the role of anticipated coordination and adaptation costs in shaping the strategic choice of contract types in the BPO market. By differentiating the two types of anticipated transaction costs, this research enables a better understanding of the dynamics between transaction characteristics, anticipated transaction costs and contract types in complicated relationships such as BPO relationships.
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Elena Ojea, Ranjan K. Ghosh, Bharat B. Agrawal and P.K. Joshi
The purpose of this paper is to present a framework for estimating the costs of adaptation to climate change impacts on ecosystems.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to present a framework for estimating the costs of adaptation to climate change impacts on ecosystems.
Design/methodology/approach
While existing studies on costing adaptation base themselves on either the financial flows on conservation or the costs of specific adaptation measures at the global level, the methodology presented here takes into account the impacts on ecosystems, the identification of vulnerable areas, and adaptation options at a more regional level.
Findings
The framework is then applied to forest ecosystems in India. The authors find that the total adaptation costs for forest ecosystems in India until 2085 are in the range of $1.34‐2.32 billion.
Originality/value
The key contribution of this paper is the proposal that for any robust estimation of adaptation costs, people should take into account the regional level impacts and the multiple adaptation options linked to those impacts.
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Dung Phuong Hoang and Thong Huy Vu
This research provides a new perspective in explaining cardholders' willingness to use debit cards instead of cash by applying the transaction costs economic theory. This study…
Abstract
Purpose
This research provides a new perspective in explaining cardholders' willingness to use debit cards instead of cash by applying the transaction costs economic theory. This study also expands the adaptation of transaction cost economics theory in explaining consumer behaviour by investigating the moderating effects of income and education level on the relationship between perceived transaction costs and willingness to use debit cards.
Design/methodology/approach
The conceptual framework was developed primarily from the transaction cost economics theory. An in-depth interview method was employed to further support hypothesis development and the development of measurement scales. A structural equation model linking asset specificity, behavioural uncertainty, environmental uncertainty, frequency of payment, perceived monitoring costs, perceived adaptation costs and willingness to use debit cards was tested using data from a sample of 384 Vietnamese debit card holders.
Findings
This study's results support the transaction cost economics theory that asset specificity, uncertainty and frequency of payment all positively contribute to the perceived transaction costs associated with debit card usage. However, only environmental uncertainty and perceived adaptation costs have significant negative impact on willingness to use debit cards, with the relationship between environmental uncertainty and willingness to use debit cards being totally mediated by perceived adaptation costs. Moreover, the relationship between perceived adaptation costs and willingness to use debit cards becomes less negative among richer and better-educated cardholders.
Practical implications
The research provides insights into the hidden obstacles for developing cashless economies, thereby supporting policy makers in designing more effective and comprehensive strategies to make debit cards more widely used as a true substitute for cash.
Originality/value
This study provides a new lens in explaining customer willingness to use debit cards, while expanding the transaction costs economics theory by incorporating demographic factors as moderators in the relationship between transaction costs and the card-or-cash choice.
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Sven‐Oliver Schmidt, Katherine Tyler and Ross Brennan
The purpose of this paper is to examine how and why business firms, both as suppliers and as customers, make specific adaptations to their products and processes to meet the…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine how and why business firms, both as suppliers and as customers, make specific adaptations to their products and processes to meet the particular requirements of another firm with which they are transacting business.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper is based on qualitative interviews with key decision makers in international services business‐to‐business organisations.
Findings
The results show that adaptations cover many areas within a company, and that the explicit costs and benefits of adaptations were calculated only to a limited extent. The paper shows that most of the suppliers investigated make adaptations to meet market and customer requirements, whereas customers make adaptations following an explicit relationship management approach.
Research limitations/implications
Specific adaptation by one firm for another in the context of long‐term buyer‐seller relationships is an everyday fact of life and clearly of importance to the understanding of business marketing strategy. This aspect of business‐to‐business marketing deserves greater research attention.
Practical implications
Managers often have a narrow view of adaptation as the alteration of tangible factors, in particular the product or the production process. By taking a broader view of adaptations – to include personnel/human resources, behavioural and organisational structure changes – managers would open up a wider repertoire of strategies for relationship management, to the benefit of their firms.
Originality/value
Although adaptations are important for competitive success in business‐to‐business markets, the main types of adaptations, their costs and benefits, and the motivation of companies to make adaptations, have been subject to relatively little research, a gap, which this paper seeks to address.
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Issah Justice Musah-Surugu, Albert Ahenkan, Justice Nyigmah Bawole and Samuel Antwi Darkwah
The much-trumpeted Green Climate Fund and several other official financial mechanisms for financing adaptation to climate change under the UN Framework Convention on Climate…
Abstract
Purpose
The much-trumpeted Green Climate Fund and several other official financial mechanisms for financing adaptation to climate change under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change have fallen short in meeting adaptation needs. Many poorer people are still grappling with the scourge of climate change impacts. Consequently, there has been a dominant research focus on climate change financing emanating from official development assistance (ODA), Adaptation Fund, public expenditure and private sector support. However, there has been little attempt to examine how migrants’ remittances can close adaptation financing gaps at the local level, ostensibly creating a large research gap. This paper aims to argue that migrants’ remittances provide a unique complementary opportunity for financing adaptation and have a wider impact on those who are extremely vulnerable to climate change.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper is aligned to the qualitative research approach. Both secondary and primary data acquired through interviews and focus group discussions were used for the study. Multiple sampling methods were also used to select the respondents.
Findings
The findings show that remittances are used to finance both incremental costs of households’ infrastructure and consumption needs, as well as additional investment needs to be occasioned by ongoing or expected changes in climate.
Originality/value
In the wake of dwindling government/public revenue, ODA and poor commitment of Annex II countries to fulfil their financial obligations, the study makes the following recommendations: First, the financial infrastructure underpinning money transfers in both sending and recipient countries should be improved to make transfers attractive. Second, significant steps should be taken to reduce the fees on remittance services, especially for the small transfers typically made by poor migrants. Finally, adequate climatic information should be made available to local people to ensure that remittances are applied to the right adaptation option to avoid maladaptation.
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Rotimi Joseph, David Proverbs, Jessica Lamond and Peter Wassell
There has been a significant increase in flooding in the UK over the past ten years. During this time, Government policy has moved from investment in flood defences towards…
Abstract
Purpose
There has been a significant increase in flooding in the UK over the past ten years. During this time, Government policy has moved from investment in flood defences towards encouraging property owners to take responsibility for reducing the impact of flooding. One of the ways in which this can be achieved is for homeowners to adapt their properties to flood risk by implementing property level flood risk adaptation (PLFRA) measures. While there has been some attempt to develop an understanding of the benefits of such measures, these previous studies have their limitations in that the intangible benefits have not been fully considered. As such, there remains a need for further development of these studies towards developing a more comprehensive understanding of PLFRA measures. It is against this background the purpose of this paper is to present a conceptual cost benefit analysis (CBA) framework for PLFRA measure. This framework brings together the key parameters of the costs and benefits of adapting properties to flood risk including the intangible benefits, which have so far been overlooked in previous studies.
Design/methodology/approach
A critical review of the standard methods and existing CBA models of PLFRA measures was undertaken. A synthesis of this literature and the literature on the nature of flooding and measures to reduce and eliminate their impacts provides the basis for the development of a conceptual framework of the costs and benefits of PLFRA measures. Within the developed framework, particular emphasis is placed on the intangible impacts, as these have largely been excluded from previous studies in the domain of PLFRA measures.
Findings
The framework provides a systematic way of assessing the costs and benefits of PLFRA measures. A unique feature of the framework is the inclusion of intangible impacts, such as anxiety and ill health, which are known to be difficult to measure. The study proposes to implement one of the stated preference methods (SPM) of valuation to measure these impacts, known as the willingness to pay method, as part of a survey of homeowners. The inclusion of these intangible impacts provides the potential to develop a more comprehensive understanding of the benefit cost ratio (BCR) for different stakeholders. The newly developed CBA conceptual framework includes four principal components: the tangible benefits to insurers; the tangible benefits to the government; the tangible benefits to homeowners; and the intangible benefits to homeowners.
Originality/value
This tool offers the potential to support government policy concerned with increasing the uptake of PLFRA measures through increasing the information available to homeowners and thereby supporting the decision-making process.
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The purpose of this paper is to provide a bottom‐up perspective about the operational and policy challenges of undertaking adaptive action in water‐scarce environments of India.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to provide a bottom‐up perspective about the operational and policy challenges of undertaking adaptive action in water‐scarce environments of India.
Design/methodology/approach
A cross section of 112 small, medium and big farmers drawn from three semi‐arid villages of rural Bangalore District were surveyed to assess their dependence on natural habitats and elicit information on costs and benefits of undertaking adaptation activities. Also explored were the possible impacts of institutional financing systems and publicly funded programs on adaptation action in the study area.
Findings
Small farmers in the study zone were conservation oriented and relied on a variety of terrestrial and aquatic habitats for cultivation operations. On the other hand, commercial and semi commercial farmers who practiced resource intensive cultivation systems were not conservation oriented and were reluctant to go beyond “modest” adaptation activities. Similarly loans provided by local financial institutions to support agricultural operations were designed to maximize crop yields than minimize input use. On the other hand, the conservation programs that were undertaken on common property resources though supportive of public adaptation action, had poor spill‐over effects on private adaptation.
Originality/value
The value of this paper lies in the interesting results it presents about a group of farmers in three semi‐arid villages of South India. The originality of the paper lies in the key policy issues it raises on climate financing in the light of ground level evidence. The paper proposes a compensation regime to incentivize adaptation.
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Edgardo R. Bravo and Jhony Ostos
In dynamic environments, employees should respond to changing demands carrying out actions to achieve proper knowledge of the information systems (IS) that they use (individual…
Abstract
Purpose
In dynamic environments, employees should respond to changing demands carrying out actions to achieve proper knowledge of the information systems (IS) that they use (individual adaptation). However, few studies have investigated the determinants of this behaviour. This study proposes and empirically evaluates a cognitive-attitudinal model grounded in migration theory, which considers push, pull and mooring factors.
Design/methodology/approach
Data collected from ERP users were analysed using partial least squares.
Findings
Coherent with migration theory, the results show that the individual adapts influenced by push factors (dissatisfaction with their current command of the IS), pull factors (expected benefits from improving their command) and mooring factors (attitude to the adaptation process). Also, inertia and cost of adaption impact on attitude.
Research limitations/implications
This study introduces migration theory to the IS literature as a basis for comprehensively explaining adaptation in organisational settings.
Practical implications
The results suggest that management should: exhibit the instrumental benefits of a solid command of the IS; show the current gap in employee knowledge to revert it and, introduce changes to move employees out of their comfort zone to encourage ongoing learning and reduce resistance.
Originality/value
While previous studies have focused on the implementation stage and the emotional factors to explain adaptation, this study intends to bridge this gap by investigating cognitive-attitudinal factors that trigger the intention to adapt in the post-adoption stage. The findings of this study are useful to researchers in adaptation behaviour, and to managers to promote IS learning for their staff.
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Patricia Deflorin, Helmut Dietl, Markus Lang and Maike Scherrer‐Rathje
The purpose of this paper is to compare two distinct network structures to determine and show which structure is more profitable. Specifically, it aims to show which factors…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to compare two distinct network structures to determine and show which structure is more profitable. Specifically, it aims to show which factors render the lead factory concept advantageous.
Design/methodology/approach
Based on a simple, two‐stage model for prototype and serial production, the authors highlight factors that determine the relative advantages and disadvantages of the lead factory concept in comparison to an archetype network. The archetype network mirrors those networks that have not implemented special strategic plant roles.
Findings
The analysis shows that the lead factory concept benefits from an efficient knowledge transfer. Particularly, it is more profitable than the archetype network under the following conditions: there are a high number of production plants; the adaptation costs for implementing the transferred prototype from the lead factory to the plant are low; the manufacturing costs for the prototype are high; and the manufacturing processes are not highly specific or knowledge intensive.
Originality/value
The paper enables better understanding of the conditions under which the lead factory concept is advantageous for transferring knowledge within an intra‐firm network.
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