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The paper concludes with showing that in the most optimistic scenario, end-of-life (EOL) batteries will account for 86% of energy storage for wind and 36% for solar PV in 2040.

With the growing demand for electric vehicles (EVs), the stock of discarded batteries will increase dramatically if no action is taken for their reuse or recycling. One potential avenue is to reuse them as energy storage systems (ESS) to mitigate the intermittent generation of renewable energy such as solar PV and wind. In a sense, the reliability for solar PV and wind energy can increase if energy storage systems become economically more attractive, making solar and wind systems more attractive through economies of scale.

The paper concludes with showing that in the most optimistic scenario, EOL batteries will account for 86% of energy storage for wind and 36% for solar PV in 2040.

The projection of scenarios can contribute to the information of policies, standards and identification of environmental promotion and promotion related to efficient management for EOL batteries.

Entrepreneurship is presented as a vehicle for innovation and social development. Given the importance of entrepreneurship, the objective of this study was to analyze the psychological and sociological dimensions by determining the factors that explain individual perceptions and cultural support for entrepreneurship.

Using Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) data obtained from the Adult Population Survey (APS) (N = 2,500) in the region of Andalusia (Spain), a quantitative analysis was carried out, specifically a multivariate analysis based on four-stage linear regressions.

The variables examined do not explain the psychological and sociological dimensions to the same extent. The results highlight the existence of cultural homogeneity between provinces, the importance of sociodemographic variables and the influence of the entrepreneurial expectations and experiences of the population, especially in shaping individual perceptions towards entrepreneurship.

The replication of the study at the national and international levels is proposed in order to delve deeper into the cultural differences that condition entrepreneurship. Including new variables associated with entrepreneurial human capital could also be of interest.

The results can help to improve the design and implementation of policies and programs aimed at fostering entrepreneurship through the promotion of favorable individual perceptions and entrepreneurial culture.

The originality of this study is the consideration of individual perceptions and cultural support for entrepreneurship as dependent variables, since they are normally incorporated as explanatory factors. The results contribute to the advancement of knowledge of the entrepreneurial phenomenon through two approaches, psychological and sociological.

El emprendimiento se presenta como vehículo de innovación y desarrollo social. Dada la importancia del fenómeno, el objetivo de esta investigación es analizar las dimensiones psicológica y sociológica del emprendimiento a través de los factores que explican las percepciones individuales y la cultura de apoyo al emprendimiento.

A partir de datos GEM obtenidos mediante la Encuesta de Población Adulta (N = 2,500) en Andalucía (España), se desarrolla una metodología cuantitativa, concretamente un análisis multivariante basado en regresiones lineales de cuatro etapas.

Las variables consideradas no explican en la misma medida la dimensión psicológica y la sociológica. Se evidencia la existencia de homogeneidad cultural interprovincial, la importancia de las variables sociodemográficas y la influencia de las expectativas y las experiencias vinculadas al emprendimiento, especialmente en la formación de percepciones individuales.

Se propone la réplica del estudio a nivel nacional e internacional para ahondar en las diferencias culturales que condicionan la creación empresarial. Se considera interesante incluir nuevas variables asociadas con el capital humano emprendedor.

Mejora del diseño y la implementación de políticas y programas dirigidos a potenciar el emprendimiento, a través del fomento de las percepciones individuales favorables y la cultura emprendedora.

La originalidad reside en la consideración de las percepciones individuales y la cultura de apoyo al emprendimiento como variables dependientes, ya que normalmente se incorporan como factores explicativos. Se contribuye al avance del conocimiento sobre el fenómeno emprendedor a través de dos enfoques, el psicológico y el sociológico.

The state of science education is similar to that of other disciplines: research shows a clear need for new instructional strategies based on a constructivist model of learning emphasizing conceptual growth, conceptual change and the conditions that support conceptual change. Practice, however, remains anchored in behaviorist theory and rote methods of learning. “Serious constructivist approaches usually set out to reorganize traditional teaching by including changes of aims, setup of content structures, media, and teaching/learning strategies” (Treagust et al, 1996, p7). Maher and Alston (1990) discuss constructivist reform efforts and the implications for classroom teaching focusing on three issues that arise repeatedly: how to learn to listen to students’ thinking; how to organize classroom activities to support “listening and questioning”; and how to implement forms of assessment that document students’ questions.

This paper describes some constructivist teaching methodology and practices, and highlights their effectiveness as an aid to teaching and understanding in the classroom.

The need to change budgeting has been frequently debated. Drawing on the literature on management accounting and budgeting change, this study aims to explore changes in budgeting and whether experienced success of budgeting varied with time and budget type. Changes in the use of the following budget types were investigated: fixed, revised, rolling, flexible and hybrid budgets.

This study uses a mixed research methodology. Survey data was collected from the same business units of large Finnish manufacturing firms in 2004 (Time 1) and 2016/2017 (Time 2) (N = 28). In addition, some of the respondents of the latter survey were interviewed in 2023 (Time 3).

Almost all business units were found to have remained loyal to budgeting. However, changes in budget types were not uncommon and varied considerably. Overall, the use of fixed budgets continued strongly, the use of revised and hybrid budgets declined, and the use of rolling budgets increased over time. Moreover, the joint use of budgets declined. The perceived success of budgetary processes was, initially, weakened by the use of fixed budgets and, later, by the use of revised budgets. The interview data further illustrates some of the patterns of, and reasons behind, the changes.

Longitudinal analysis of change in the same business units was useful in revealing the patterns of change in budgeting and on relationships between the variables analysed over time. Further research could be carried out using more extensive case studies in companies or sector-focused surveys longitudinally.

This paper aims to investigate the relationship between employee training and bank risk to verify whether and to what extent an increase in employee training, as a soft component of total quality management (TQM), affects bank risk.

The research adopts a panel regression, based on a unique dataset of a sample of Italian banks over the period 2011–2018, to test whether employee training affects bank risk, measured alternatively in terms of Z-score, a proxy of bank stability and non-performing loans (NPLs)/gross loans ratio as a proxy of credit risk.

Research findings reveal that increasing employee training leads to growing bank stability. In contrast, credit risk is not affected by employee training. However, by investigating training heterogeneity, this study found that the increase in the number of managerial training hours, as a proxy for soft skills training, negatively impacts credit risk. Therefore, an increase in soft skills leads to a reduction in bank credit risk.

This study provides empirical evidence in support of the relationship between employee training and bank risk, which seems novel in the literature. From a managerial point of view, this study highlights the need for banks to pay attention to the skills, particularly soft skills, that banks' employees must possess to effectively manage bank risk and, more specifically, the core bank risk.

Empirical evidence on the relationship between employee training, soft/hard skills and bank risk appears limited if not absent. Therefore, the findings provide insights for a more nuanced interpretation of variables that affect bank risk.

Inspired by new findings on and perceptions of risk governance, such as the necessity of taking a broader perspective in coping with risks in companies and working together in interactive groups with various stakeholders to deal with complex risks in the modern world, the purpose of this paper is looking for new ways to deal with financial risks. Current methods dealing with those risks are confronted with the problems of being primarily based on past data and experience, neglecting the need for objectivity, focusing on the short-term future and disregarding the interconnectedness of different financial risk categories.

A literature review of risk governance, financial risk management and open foresight was executed to conceptualize solutions to the mentioned-above problems.

Collaborative financial risk assessment (CFRA) is a promising approach in financial risk governance with respect to overcoming said problems. It is a method of risk identification and assessment, which combines aspects of “open foresight” and the financial risk management and governance literature. CFRA is characterized as bringing together members of different companies in trying to detect weak signals and trends to gain knowledge about the future, which helps companies to reduce financial risks and increase the chance of gaining economic value. By overcoming organizational boundaries, individual companies may gain the knowledge they would probably not have without CFRA and achieve a competitive advantage.

A conceptual paper like the one at hand wants empirical proof. Therefore, the authors developed a research agenda in the form of five propositions for further research.

This paper discusses the existing problems of financial risk identification and assessment methods. It contributes to the existing literature by proposing CFRA as a solution to those problems and adding a new perspective to financial risk governance.

This study aims to contribute to routine dynamics literature and organization process practices. The main objective is to identify different ways organizational members (re)construct truces at the boundaries of budgeting routines where (re)plannings face scarce resources and, consequently, require modifications in routines.

The research adopted the phenomenographic theoretical-methodological approach to investigate from a process perspective. Twenty-two professionals from 17 companies were interviewed about their experiences with budgeting. Three conceptions and six explanatory dimensions were organized systematically on a conceptual map, which provided insights for three new propositions.

Three conceptions about truce (re)construction were found: “authority subjection” denotes an obedient behavior toward centralized orders for budget cuttings; “prudent assimilation” explains how some specific routines are preserved from resource reduction; and “participatory interactions” stand for exhaustive and participative efforts for negotiations beyond routine frontiers. Three theoretical propositions are also presented: “awareness of systemic complexity” may strengthen arguments for negotiations; “team’s collective configuration of relationship networks” reinforces collective attributes; and “social-based learning” may be developed through truce (re)construction.

Jorgüen Sandberg, who brought the phenomenographic approach to Organization Studies in 2000, stances that it is not assured that conceptions cover all varied forms of the phenomenon.

Implementing these findings in organizations may improve commitment to ecology of routines and decentralized decisions with a sense of responsibility for financial plans.

This study encourages transparency and ideas for cost-efficient resource use.

This study provides advance knowledge about truce in routines while encompassing its ecology.

This paper focuses on bank audit committees and examines whether audit committee members who are former auditors are associated with the acquisition of audit and non-audit services from their former employers.

The study empirically examines a sample of large banks that are included in the S&P Composite 1500.

The paper reports significantly lower audit fees and a higher proportion of non-audit fees to total fees when the audit committee chair is an alumnus of the incumbent audit firm. Moreover, additional analysis reveals that these findings are stronger for banks with more earnings management.

Overall, the findings indicate that audit firms might consider banks using their alumni as audit committee chairs to be less risky or easier to audit, thus requiring relatively less effort from the auditors. The reduced effort required to audit clients with audit firm alumni on their audit committees then has the effect of reducing the audit fees charged. Alternatively, their auditing experience and cognitive proximity might influence the assessment of the need for auditing or the ability to negotiate lower audit fees on the part of audit firm alumni.

This paper provides empirical evidence of the association between audit firm alumni in influential positions on an audit committee and fees paid to those audit firms in the banking industry. The findings contribute to the literature by suggesting that banks with affiliated former auditors chairing their audit committees not only have significantly lower audit fees but also a higher proportion is spent on non-audit services.

This study aims to propose an enhanced eco-driving strategy based on reinforcement learning (RL) to alleviate the mileage anxiety of electric vehicles (EVs) in the connected environment.

In this paper, an enhanced eco-driving control strategy based on an advanced RL algorithm in hybrid action space (EEDC-HRL) is proposed for connected EVs. The EEDC-HRL simultaneously controls longitudinal velocity and lateral lane-changing maneuvers to achieve more potential eco-driving. Moreover, this study redesigns an all-purpose and efficient-training reward function with the aim to achieve energy-saving on the premise of ensuring other driving performance.

To illustrate the performance for the EEDC-HRL, the controlled EV was trained and tested in various traffic flow states. The experimental results demonstrate that the proposed technique can effectively improve energy efficiency, without sacrificing travel efficiency, comfort, safety and lane-changing performance in different traffic flow states.

In light of the aforementioned discussion, the contributions of this paper are two-fold. An enhanced eco-driving strategy based an advanced RL algorithm in hybrid action space (EEDC-HRL) is proposed to jointly optimize longitudinal velocity and lateral lane-changing for connected EVs. A full-scale reward function consisting of multiple sub-rewards with a safety control constraint is redesigned to achieve eco-driving while ensuring other driving performance.

This study aims to investigate which factors are associated with the willingness of employers to hire people with disability from the perspective of disability employment service providers. We also identify social marketing approaches that disability employment service providers consider to be most effective in increasing employer willingness to hire people with disability.

Using the framework of the theory of planned behavior, this study examines the association of attitude, subjective norms and perceived behavioral control with employer willingness to hire people with disability. The authors do this from the perspective of disability employment service providers, who are responsible for matching people with disability with suitable employment opportunities. The authors used a qualitative approach to data collection and conducted 30 in-depth interviews. Data analysis included deductive and inductive coding to develop the themes and subthemes.

Attitude, subjective norms and perceived behavioral control were all perceived to influence employers’ willingness to hire people with disability. However, the importance of each construct was perceived to differ by location and organization type. Three key social marketing approaches were perceived to be most effective in increasing employer willingness to hire people with disability: educational, relational and interactive. The educational intervention attempts to increase employers’ knowledge about disability, the relational approach aims to develop relationships within the community to strengthen relationships with employers and the interactive approach involves direct contact between employers and people with disability.

Theoretically, this study reveals perceived heterogeneity in terms of the theoretical constructs that are employer hiring decisions. Practically, results help disability employment service providers design social marketing strategies that are effective in reducing barriers and increasing employment for people with disability. Methodologically, this study adds a new perspective on employer willingness to hire people with disability – that of disability employment service providers – which avoids the social desirability bias found in many self-reported studies of employer attitudes and behavior.