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This paper aims to describe relationships among healthcare professionals in a French public hospital using social network analysis (SNA) and to improve health service quality by strengthening health service management and leadership.

This study was based on a questionnaire sent to randomly selected French public hospital professionals and administrators. Network composition measures were obtained using a name generator. Analysis focused on three main indicators: “centrality”, “prestige”, and “clique participants”. The SNA was carried out using UCINET^® and statistical analyses were performed with SPSS version 15.0.

A total of 104 questionnaires were returned and analysed. Centrality, prestige and clique indicators were highly correlated (all p‐value were less than 0.01). Physicians had the highest scores for the three indicators. Older age (≥45 years) was associated with higher centrality and clique numbers scores. Transversal activity was associated with higher scores than other specific activities (hospitalisation, ambulatory care), except for emergency care.

The paper shows how networks and SNA techniques provide novel and useful means to understand communication and collaboration between hospital professionals.

This study aims to identify the economic impact of a potential implementation of a Climatic Reserve for the Swiss predominant white grape variety (Chasselas) vinified in the AOC (controlled designation of origin) category. The Climatic Reserve would imply the possibility of harvesting an additional quantity of grapes whose commercialization in wine would be delayed until it is approved by the relevant authority.

The impact of a potential implementation of this wine supply management tool is simulated through an innovative method that combines the vector autoregressive (VAR) model to estimate the influence of the previous consumptions and productions on the current consumption and linear regression [ordinary least square (OLS) method] to estimate the price elasticity to measure the evolution of the price depending on the simulated consumption. The VAR model is based on state-level data about production, stocks, and consumption (all the channels of distribution combined), while the OLS regression for estimating price elasticity uses the retail market data (Nielsen Panel). With the sales and price variables on a monthly frequency design, the latter represents about 40% of the wine market in Switzerland.

According to simulations carried out at the level of a region from the canton of Vaud in Switzerland (2000–2018), the increase in turnover linked to the release of the Climatic Reserve would be +3.1% for the indigenous white grape variety Chasselas.

The Climatic Reserve is a wine supply management tool that could complement the existing yield restriction, which does not significantly influence the quantities sold, according to previous studies. Our paper contributes to the literature by demonstrating the economic advantage of this supply management tool to deal with the increasingly frequent climatic hazards in wine production and market. The methodology could be applied to other wine regions (contexts) or other agricultural sectors.

This study constructs a comprehensive, internationally comparative set of foreign trade data for the period 1857–1875. The dataset is constructed using information at the commodity group-level and contains import and export values for the UK, France, the Zollverein, the Netherlands, Belgium, Austria-Hungary, and the United States, itemised by trade partner. The study tackles three basic problems related to the heterogeneity in national statistics of the period: different definitions of aggregates, inadequate ‘official’ pricing, and the ‘proximity bias’, i.e. the misleading practice of crediting imports to bordering countries from where they physically entered, but where they did not originate. After passing successfully a consistency test, the resulting dataset contains harmonised and country of origin-corrected bilateral trade values for 7 central importers, 10 points in time, and 21 commodity groups, along with ad valorem tariff rates for all commodity groups and countries. They offer new detailed insights into the composition and evolution of trade and tariffs in the third quarter of the 19th century. Furthermore, a basic implementation of the gravity equation shows that as a consequence of the proximity bias estimates using uncorrected data are to be taken with care, especially when assessing border effects and the impact of policy variables.

The purpose of this paper is to address the perceptions senior public leaders in local government have regarding the need for business intelligence and their perceptions of the extent to which their organizations are capable of effectively assimilating business intelligence.

The data are from a survey on local governments’ need for and capability to use business intelligence, with a response rate of 50.5 percent, and semi-structured interviews. The survey method originates from private sector research but is adapted to local government conditions in Sweden.

The leaders’ perceptions about the need for business intelligence were fragmented. Their perceptions regarding its use were even more fragmented, both between different municipalities and within municipalities.

The survey is adapted to local government conditions in Sweden and may need further changes to fit other settings. The adaptation and renewal of questions can lead to summation errors in relation to the original survey.

The paper highlights some of the strategic areas where senior public leaders need to advance their business intelligence and prioritize specific organizational capabilities. The dominant logic, enhancing an inward-looking approach, seems to prevent a more thoroughgoing business analysis.

The adaptation of a method that is mainly used in the private sector can give new perspectives to senior public leaders regarding the need for and use of business intelligence and can help them identify the factors that can affect the complexity and volatility in local government settings.