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Article
Publication date: 2 September 2020

Håkan Burden and Frances Sprei

The purpose of this study is to address the challenges of teaching sustainable development to computer engineering students. Part of the problem is that they perceive the topic as…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to address the challenges of teaching sustainable development to computer engineering students. Part of the problem is that they perceive the topic as irrelevant for their future profession.

Design/methodology/approach

To address this challenge, we introduced a project element into a course on sustainable development where the students developed applications for sustainable mobility together with the local public transport authority, an academic institution and a multinational telecom company.

Findings

The findings conclude that the course changes improved the overall student satisfaction while succeeding in anchoring sustainable development in a context which the students can relate to. The collaboration was also perceived as fruitful by the external stakeholders who encouraged the students to stay in touch for their bachelor theses and internships.

Research limitations/implications

The theoretical implication is a first attempt in integrating sustainable development education with entrepreneurial experiences, whereas the practical implication is a description of how the integration can be realized.

Practical implications

The contribution is therefore of value for both educational researchers to open novel research opportunities and for teachers to describe new possibilities for sustainable development education.

Originality/value

The contribution describes how entrepreneurial experiences can be used to motivate engineering students in mandatory courses on sustainable development and ethics. The approach is novel in that the approach has not been described earlier in this context.

Details

International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education, vol. 22 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1467-6370

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 31 December 2010

Paul Peeters

Technological development from horse-drawn carriages to the new Airbus A380 has led to a remarkable increase in both the capacity and speed of tourist travel. This development has…

Abstract

Technological development from horse-drawn carriages to the new Airbus A380 has led to a remarkable increase in both the capacity and speed of tourist travel. This development has an endogenous systemic cause and will continue to increase carbon dioxide emissions/energy consumption if left unchecked. Another stream of technological research and development aims at reducing pollution and will reduce emissions per passenger-kilometer, but suffers from several rebound effects. The final impact on energy consumption depends on the strength of the positive and negative feedback in the technology system of tourism transport. However, as the core tourism industry including tour operators, travel agencies, and, accommodation has a strong link with air transport, it is unlikely that technological development without strong social and political control will result in delivering the emission reductions required for avoiding dangerous climate change.

Details

Tourism and the Implications of Climate Change: Issues and Actions
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-0-85724-620-2

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 27 June 2019

Victor Barros and Hugo Pádua

The purpose of this paper is to analyse to what extent financial incentives under the green tax reform introduced in Portugal in 2014 drive behaviours of acquiring a plug-in…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to analyse to what extent financial incentives under the green tax reform introduced in Portugal in 2014 drive behaviours of acquiring a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV).

Design/methodology/approach

The existent literature identifies a number of factors that influence the interest for PHEV acquisition, including access to financial incentives. However, empirical evidence is not clear as to which factors are more relevant. The authors extend an existent theoretical model of five factors by including ten factors. On this basis, the study carries out a survey and develops a structural equation model to investigate what drives the interest to acquire a PHEV.

Findings

Financial incentives are superior to other factors in explaining the interest in acquiring a PHEV. Education, lower income levels, living in larger cities and driving smaller vehicles shape the interest on these vehicles differently. Financial incentives were found to closely offset the difference in price between conventional vehicles and plug-in hybrids.

Social implications

This study finds that public policies can be powerful in shaping consumers’ behaviour, although the amount of the financial incentive is key to triggering a large-scale effect.

Originality/value

The survey in this study allows an in-depth and ex ante analysis of the interest in acquiring PHEV under a green tax reform, taking into account other dimensions and socio-economic variables not accounted for in existent studies.

Details

EuroMed Journal of Business, vol. 14 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1450-2194

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 23 July 2021

Brenda Nansubuga and Christian Kowalkowski

Following the recent surge in research on carsharing, the paper synthesizes this growing literature to provide a comprehensive understanding of the current state of research and…

11349

Abstract

Purpose

Following the recent surge in research on carsharing, the paper synthesizes this growing literature to provide a comprehensive understanding of the current state of research and to identify directions for future work. Specifically, this study details implications for service theory and practice.

Design/methodology/approach

Systematic selection and analysis of 279 papers from the existing literature, published between 1996 and 2020.

Findings

The literature review identified four key themes: business models, drivers and barriers, customer behavior, and vehicle balancing.

Practical implications

For managers, the study illuminates the importance of collaboration among stakeholders within the automotive sector for purposes of widening their customer base and maximizing utilization and profits. For policy makers, their important role in supporting carsharing take-off is highlighted with emphasis on balancing support rendered to different mobility services to promote mutual success.

Originality/value

This is the first systematic multi-disciplinary literature review of carsharing. It integrates insights from transportation, environmental, and business studies, identifying gaps in the existing research and specifically suggesting implications for service research.

Details

Journal of Service Management, vol. 32 no. 6
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1757-5818

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 20 October 2023

Matthias Pepin, Maripier Tremblay, Luc K. Audebrand and Sonia Chassé

Business model (BM) canvases have been used in educational institutions and business incubators for over a decade to assist students and start-up entrepreneurs in developing their…

Abstract

Purpose

Business model (BM) canvases have been used in educational institutions and business incubators for over a decade to assist students and start-up entrepreneurs in developing their business projects. Given the urgency of tackling sustainability challenges, several tools have emerged to stimulate sustainable business modeling (SBM). However, these tools are often too complex for nonexperts in business modeling or sustainability, and thus insufficiently user-friendly for educational contexts. This study aims to address this pedagogical gap by describing the design process of the responsible business model canvas (RBMC).

Design/methodology/approach

The authors relied on a design science research methodology involving the active participation of end users, entrepreneurship educators, business coaches and external partners. The authors proposed four criteria and ten subcriteria to analyze existing SBM canvases based on their user-friendliness and to design the initial prototype of the RBMC. The RBMC was subsequently tested in various settings, including classroom assignments and business incubation programs, with over 1,000 university students. The tool was refined and assessed throughout the development process, incorporating feedback from focus groups with start-up entrepreneurs.

Findings

Through the development process, the authors created a user-friendly tool to help novice student and start-up entrepreneurs integrate sustainability into their BMs: the RBMC. The canvas consists of 14 building blocks grouped into four areas: consistency (mission, vision, values), desirability (value propositions, customer segments, users and beneficiaries, customer relationships and channels), feasibility (key activities, key resources, key partners and stakeholders and governance) and viability (cost structure, revenues streams, negative impacts and positive impacts).

Research limitations/implications

The research methods and user-friendliness criteria in this study can be applied in other contexts to design tools to support sustainable entrepreneurship education. While the RBMC is currently being used in several educational institutions throughout the world, its impacts in different pedagogical and cultural settings require further validation.

Practical implications

The RBMC is a user-friendly tool to introduce students and start-up entrepreneurs to SBM. It helps raise users’ awareness about sustainability concerns, challenging them to consider issues they might have otherwise overlooked. Some participants even shifted their outlook and were motivated to develop a long-term vision integrating compensatory, mitigative or corrective actions into their BMs.

Originality/value

The RBMC is the outcome of a balanced approach that combines both pragmatic (i.e. user-friendliness) and normative (i.e. sustainability) perspectives. It provides users with a systematic approach for integrating and applying sustainability issues in their business projects.

Details

International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education, vol. 25 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1467-6370

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 24 April 2023

João Paulo Nascimento Silva, Cledison Carlos de Oliveira, Gabriel Pedrosa and André Grutzmann

This paper aims to analyse the technological, economic and environmental impacts of disruptive innovations in the transportation mobility market.

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to analyse the technological, economic and environmental impacts of disruptive innovations in the transportation mobility market.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper gathered data from World Bank and 13 open sources in an exploratory, descriptive and applied investigation on potentially disruptive transport innovations outcomes in G7 and BRICS (Brazil, Russian Federation, India, China and South Africa) economies, businesses and societies.

Findings

The results suggest positive implications for technological leapfrogging of electric vehicles (EV), autonomous vehicles (AVs) and electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOLs), such as gains in energy consumption, infrastructure improvement, greenhouse gas emissions reduction, economic growth and the opportunity for new disruptive technologies to improve or even revolutionize the transportation ecosystem.

Research limitations/implications

This study has clear limitations as it compares G7 and BRICS hypothetical scenarios where internal combustion vehicles were replaced by new technologies, ceteris paribus. Even so, as theoretical implications, the study presents market scenarios for EVs, AVs and eVTOLs technologies, bringing benefits to the disruptive innovation theory by expanding the understanding of the subject and also opening avenues of investigation by exploring new technological, economic and environmental possibilities.

Practical implications

This study emphasises potentially disruptive technologies’ technological, economic and sustainable benefits to countries through technological leapfrogging. The organizations can delve into results to investigate forthcoming markets and seek advantageous positions. Economic and social gains from leapfrogging could motivate government bodies to finance research focusing on EVs, AVs and eVTOLs diffusion.

Originality/value

The paper’s originality resides in aggregating multiple data sources to compare technological leapfrogging in G7 and BRICS transportation. The different views allowed for exploring the potential outcomes of EVs, AVs and eVTOLs on economic, sustainability and market dimensions in developed and developing countries.

Article
Publication date: 28 February 2023

Balan Sundarakani, Haile-Selassie Rajamani and Anas Madmoune

The UAE has set an ambitious target to become one of the most sustainable countries in the world. In addition, the country's infrastructure is playing a pivotal role in terms of…

Abstract

Purpose

The UAE has set an ambitious target to become one of the most sustainable countries in the world. In addition, the country's infrastructure is playing a pivotal role in terms of electric vehicle (EV) usability with regard to its roads, power generation capacity, availability of charging stations and the drive towards customer adoption. The readiness for EVs in the UAE is assessed in this study as part of its development towards its sustainable target. This research aims to study EV readiness among the UAE car users from a sustainability perspective.

Design/methodology/approach

The proposed methodology follows with a comprehensive literature review to identify the various drivers of EV readiness and their contribution to sustainability. A list of hypotheses was developed based on the identified drivers to EV readiness. A questionnaire survey was designed to validate the hypothesis, and data were collected from consumers in the UAE. In total, 140 complete responses were received across different consumers and the results were studied using partial least square based structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) method.

Findings

An initial framework for EV readiness was developed, and analyses of the variables that are driving the relationships was done. The analysis confirmed that quality of service, power quality and infrastructure are positively linked to EV readiness in the UAE. However, the role of blockchain as a moderator to enhance the relationship between power quality, infrastructure and sustainability is not significant, indicating blockchain adoption in the UAE is still nascent in nature. However, its adoption has some potential to save energy.

Research limitations/implications

The research is limited to the UAE region in terms of sample collection and respondents' profile. Further, research on EV readiness seemed to be early at present and therefore this research on EV readiness and its associated variables could set future research directions.

Originality/value

Logistics industry and automotive industries will benefit from the outcomes of the study especially while operating in the UAE. Also, the research recommends EV makers to understand the relationship between quality of service, power quality, infrastructure, EV readiness and sustainability in order to move towards a more sustainable transportation future.

Details

Benchmarking: An International Journal, vol. 31 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1463-5771

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 31 December 2010

Abstract

Details

Tourism and the Implications of Climate Change: Issues and Actions
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-0-85724-620-2

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