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1 – 10 of over 4000Green supplier selection is one of the crucial activities in green supply chain management. However, limited studies have addressed the vagueness and complexities during the…
Abstract
Purpose
Green supplier selection is one of the crucial activities in green supply chain management. However, limited studies have addressed the vagueness and complexities during the selection process, particularly in multi-criterion decision-making (MCDM) circumstances. Hence, the purpose of this paper is to develop a group decision model using a modified fuzzy MCDM approach for green supplier selection under a complex situation.
Design/methodology/approach
The proposed study develops a framework for sorting decisions in green supplier selection by using the hesitant fuzzy qualitative flexible multiple attributes method (QUALIFLEX). The synthetic consistent or inconsistent indexes were used to calculate all alternative suppliers by normalizing the hesitant fuzzy decision matrix.
Findings
The proposed framework has been successfully applied and illustrated in the case example of CB02 contract section in Hong Kong–Zhuhai–Macau Bridge project. The results show various complicated decision-making scenarios can be addressed through the proposed approach. The synthetic (in)consistent indexes are able to calculate all alternative suppliers by normalizing the hesitant fuzzy decision matrix.
Originality/value
The research contributes to improving accuracy and reliability decision-making processes for green supplier selection, especially under vagueness and complex situations in megaprojects.
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Michele Grimaldi, Livio Cricelli and Francesco Rogo
The purpose of the paper is to advance a framework that can assess and analyze the value of patent portfolios. On this purpose, the framework develops a conceptual and…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of the paper is to advance a framework that can assess and analyze the value of patent portfolios. On this purpose, the framework develops a conceptual and comprehensive index, the patent portfolio value index (PPVI), to assess the patent innovation level and suggest economic-strategic guidelines.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors have designed and applied a framework that synthesizes into a single index the results of a multiple criteria approach, based on information derived from quantitative objective data (claims, citations, and market coverage), information related to qualitative determinants (strategic positioning and economic importance), and information derived from decision makers’ perceptions and judgments.
Findings
The authors have applied the PPVI to the 3,532 patent portfolio documents in an Italian worldwide player in aerospace and defense market. The combined analysis, provided by the PPVI and a qualitative synoptic representation, has made it possible to understand the strategic positioning and alignment of patents with the core business of the company. The results of the analysis have provided managers with the necessary suggestions regarding action items to be performed: to reinforce, license, try to dismiss, or sell some of the examined patents of the portfolios.
Practical implications
The PPVI supplies a quick procedure to ascertain the profitability of patents and accounts for the value of a patent portfolio from an internal business perspective.
Originality/value
As it is built and defined, the PPVI shows elements of novelty compared to the other indexes existing in the literature, in that it follows a multiple criteria approach by merging quantitative and qualitative information.
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Alessandro Giosi, Silvia Testarmata, Sandro Brunelli and Bianca Staglianò
Recently many European countries have incurred crises in public finance despite the fact that EU institutions have pushed the national governments toward the sustainability of…
Abstract
Recently many European countries have incurred crises in public finance despite the fact that EU institutions have pushed the national governments toward the sustainability of public finance with compulsory and voluntary rules regarding fiscal governance. This paper investigates the relations between the quality of fiscal governance and the financial virtuosity of national fiscal policy. We proposed a general framework for analyzing the fiscal governance issue and we empirically tested the correlation between the dimensions of fiscal governance and the budgetary performance of EU countries. The results showed a positive correlation between the quality of fiscal governance in the EU countries and financial surplus in the period concerned. However further investigations are needed and an effort should be made to collect uniform data on fiscal governance in the European Union.
E. Marian Scott, Daniela Cocchi and J. Campbell Gemmell
The purpose of this paper is to bring together an overview of the basic definitions and functions that indicators and indices have in sustainability and environmental debates…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to bring together an overview of the basic definitions and functions that indicators and indices have in sustainability and environmental debates. Indicators and indices are widely and increasingly used within environmental and sustainability debates; they provide “evidence” to demonstrate policy effects; they are used for communication of state and condition and to benchmark performance. However, the statistical basis of many indicators and indices is not well defined; so in one sense, they are simple arithmetic rather than inferential tools. This special issue opens up further debate around the creation and utility of indicators and indices and discusses some of the research challenges, including a sound statistical and inferential framework for indicator development.
Design/methodology/approach
This short paper brings together an overview of the basic definitions and functions that indicators and indices have in sustainability and environmental debates.
Findings
The paper summarises very broadly the rationale for and construction of indicators and indices. It also highlights areas where further work is required to ensure that the indicators are not simply arithmetic summaries but are generalisable.
Originality/value
This paper and the papers of this issue seek to enhance the debate concerning the development of reliable and robust indicators.
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Sifeng Liu, Yingjie Yang, Naiming Xie and Jeffrey Forrest
The purpose of this paper is to summarize the progress in grey system research during 2000-2015, so as to present some important new concepts, models, methods and a new framework…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to summarize the progress in grey system research during 2000-2015, so as to present some important new concepts, models, methods and a new framework of grey system theory.
Design/methodology/approach
The new thinking, new models and new methods of grey system theory and their applications are presented in this paper. It includes algorithm rules of grey numbers based on the “kernel” and the degree of greyness of grey numbers, the concept of general grey numbers, the synthesis axiom of degree of greyness of grey numbers and their operations; the general form of buffer operators of grey sequence operators; the four basic models of grey model GM(1,1), such as even GM, original difference GM, even difference GM, discrete GM and the suitable sequence type of each basic model, and suitable range of most used grey forecasting models; the similarity degree of grey incidences, the closeness degree of grey incidences and the three-dimensional absolute degree of grey incidence of grey incidence analysis models; the grey cluster model based on center-point and end-point mixed triangular whitenization functions; the multi-attribute intelligent grey target decision model, the two stages decision model with grey synthetic measure of grey decision models; grey game models, grey input-output models of grey combined models; and the problems of robust stability for grey stochastic time-delay systems of neutral type, distributed-delay type and neutral distributed-delay type of grey control, etc. And the new framework of grey system theory is given as well.
Findings
The problems which remain for further studying are discussed at the end of each section. The reader could know the general picture of research and developing trend of grey system theory from this paper.
Practical implications
A lot of successful practical applications of the new models to solve various problems have been found in many different areas of natural science, social science and engineering, including spaceflight, civil aviation, information, metallurgy, machinery, petroleum, chemical industry, electrical power, electronics, light industries, energy resources, transportation, medicine, health, agriculture, forestry, geography, hydrology, seismology, meteorology, environment protection, architecture, behavioral science, management science, law, education, military science, etc. These practical applications have brought forward definite and noticeable social and economic benefits. It demonstrates a wide range of applicability of grey system theory, especially in the situation where the available information is incomplete and the collected data are inaccurate.
Originality/value
The reader is given a general picture of grey systems theory as a new model system and a new framework for studying problems where partial information is known; especially for uncertain systems with few data points and poor information. The problems remaining for further studying are identified at the end of each section.
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This study aims to present the issue of the international systemic competitiveness of the Polish economy. The essence of this concept was shown, as well as the measures and…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to present the issue of the international systemic competitiveness of the Polish economy. The essence of this concept was shown, as well as the measures and methods of analysis used. The aim of the research was to identify the factors that had the greatest impact on the formation of the international systemic competitiveness of the Polish economy.
Design/methodology/approach
An econometric model was constructed to explain the shaping of the value of the dependent variable (gross domestic product [GDP] per capita) in the years 2004–2019. For this purpose, explanatory variables were used selected from among the measures of the international systemic competitiveness of the Polish economy. The developed econometric model was verified to check its practical usefulness. This process was performed using the Gretl program. The research also used the Pentagon Model of Macroeconomic Stabilization, which was used to examine the general economic development of Poland because of which it is possible to conclude about the international systemic competitiveness of the economy.
Findings
In the analyzed period (2004–2019), the international systemic competitiveness of the Polish economy was to the greatest extent conditioned by such factors as government integrity, tax burdens and investment freedom. It is significant that the integrity of the government had a negative impact on the value of GDP per capita.
Practical implications
The results of the conducted research may be particularly useful for the institutional sphere. They indicate systemic factors that had the greatest impact on the prosperity of Polish society in the analyzed period. This enables the weakest elements of the policy to be identified and improved. Proper applications and appropriate corrective actions will have a positive economic effect.
Originality/value
So far, it has not been possible to develop/indicate a uniform and generally accepted measure and method of analyzing international systemic competitiveness. Therefore, all attempts to assess and measure systemic competitiveness have a high research value. The vast majority of studies on the international competitiveness of the economy focus only on assessing its level (growth, decline and comparison with other countries). When building an econometric model (based on the 2004–2019 time series), the author also checks the impact of its individual components, not only its level. On this basis, it can be deduced, which factors influenced the competitiveness in a given period to a greater extent, positively or negatively.
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Marco Romano, Pierluigi Catalfo and Melita Nicotra
Dealing with intellectual capital (IC), the purpose of this paper is to provide a strategic tool for management activities in knowledge-based organizations. In particular, in the…
Abstract
Purpose
Dealing with intellectual capital (IC), the purpose of this paper is to provide a strategic tool for management activities in knowledge-based organizations. In particular, in the contribution, an integrated framework for intangibles’ representation, evaluation and control in Science Parks is developed.
Design/methodology/approach
Starting from a review of the main instruments for measuring intangible resources in an organization, an integrated model of IC for Science Parks is formulated.
Findings
The paper demonstrates that Science Parks are big repositories of knowledge but they are neither familiar with the IC management nor with the use of methodologies functional for the resources representations and for the variations dynamics of their value. Thereby it answers to questions related to the IC process representation, responding to managerial exigencies and to measurability and repeatability as strategic activities for business running.
Originality/value
Unlike the great number of studies on IC that formulate objective metrics of the value of firms’ intangible assets, the paper presents a model not to describe but to shape processes in a knowledge-based organization and to achieve and communicate results both for management and for increasing transparency of communication with external stakeholders.
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Enrico Marelli and Marcello Signorelli
The purpose of this paper is to identify the main “models of growth” characterising the EU countries in the last two decades, with particular reference to the…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to identify the main “models of growth” characterising the EU countries in the last two decades, with particular reference to the employment‐productivity relationship, and to reveal the key determinants of productivity.
Design/methodology/approach
After a survey of the relevant literature, the empirical section analyses the “models of growth” by graphical inspection, identifying four models (for EU‐27 in the 1990‐2008 period): extensive, intensive, virtuous, and stagnant. Then different econometric investigations (beta convergence, dynamic panel with GMM estimation, fixed effects panel, cross‐section) are used to test the “diminishing returns of employment rate” hypothesis (for the 2000‐2006 period), to assess the convergence processes and to determine the key variables affecting productivity.
Findings
The main finding is the confirmation of the hypothesis mentioned: high employment growth is likely to lead to slower productivity growth. Moreover, besides verifying the beta convergence of productivity per worker, the most significant determinants of productivity are the following: education, a transition index, some structural indicators, and a “shadow economy” proxy. Finally, the descriptive analysis shows that “old” EU countries, coming from two decades of “jobless growth”, shifted to an “extensive” growth model; in contrast, transition countries (NMS) followed the opposite path: reducing employment and raising productivity.
Research limitations/implications
It would be advisable to extend the period of the analysis, as soon as new data become available.
Practical implications
The main policy implication is to get the EU Lisbon strategy – i.e. to create “more and better” jobs – working effectively.
Originality/value
The most original finding is the clear assessment of an employment‐productivity trade‐off. Also, the different models of growth are categorised simply and effectively.
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This paper aims to present a new fault detection and classification scheme of both DC faults and AC faults on a DC microgrid network.
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to present a new fault detection and classification scheme of both DC faults and AC faults on a DC microgrid network.
Design/methodology/approach
To achieve reliable protection, the derivative of DC current signal is decomposed into several intrinsic modes using variational mode decomposition (VMD), which are then used as inputs to the Hilbert–Haung transform technique to obtain the instantaneous amplitude and frequency of the decomposed modes of the signal. A weighted Kurtosis index is used to obtain the most sensitive mode, which is used to compute sudden change in discrete Teager energy (DTE), indicating the occurrence of the fault. A stacked autoencoder-based neural network is applied for classifying the pole to ground (PG), pole to pole (PP), line to ground (LG), line to line (LL) and three-phase line to ground (LLLG) faults. The effectiveness of the proposed protection technique is validated in MATLAB/SIMULINK by considering different test cases.
Findings
As the maximum fault detection time is only 5 ms, the proposed detection technique is very fast. A stacked autoencoder-based neural network is applied for classifying the PG, PP, LG, LL and LLLG faults with classification accuracy of 99.1%.
Originality/value
The proposed technique provides a very fast, reliable and accurate protection scheme for DC microgrid system.
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Xuemou Wu, Xiangjun Feng and Dinghe Guo
A new expression of the philosophy framework of pansystems theory is stated. Some generalized quantification formulae are developed. Concrete contents include: new forms of…
Abstract
A new expression of the philosophy framework of pansystems theory is stated. Some generalized quantification formulae are developed. Concrete contents include: new forms of panderivative and pansymmetry, meta‐equation, eight‐counter methodology, pansystems relativity, dialectical logic, panbox principle, complex systems, systems engineering, analytic hierarchy process, general living systems, economy‐sociology, clustering, topology, morphology, master equation, approximation‐transforming theory, equivalence theory of dynamics of electromagnetic media, etc.
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