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The objectives of this paper are to estimate the annual Malmquist TFP(total factor productivity) index of Korea and China’s road freight transport with DEA(data envelope analysis) and to decompose the index into technical efficiency change and technology change. In the process of the estimation, we used labor, capital, and fuel as input factors and ton-km of road freight transport as output factor. The panel data of Korea and China’s road freight transport industry from 1985 to 2004 are used. The results of the analysis show several points. First, there was no significant improvement in China’s TFP growth before 1997, but there was continuous growth in TFP since 1997 because of constantly increasing domestic freight transport demand. Second, there was downward trend in Korea’s TFP, especially there was a large reduction of productivity in 1998 because of the huge reduction of road freight transport demand during the period of the economic crisis. Third, the technology improvements play a significant role in the TFP growth and the technical efficiency had negative effects on the TFP growth of Korea. However, the technology improvements as well as the technical efficiency had positive effects on the TFP growth of China’s road freight transport industry.

China has been the most important economic partner to Korea since the resurrection of their diplomatic relationship and economic interaction. It has been suggested that China simultaneously presents challenges and opportunities to the Korean economy. This paper investigates changes in trade specialization patterns and comparative advantage of Korea and China, and analyzes the effect of market expansion of Chinese industries on market shares of Korean industries. It is found that since the early 1990s, the industries that lost market share as China’s share increased include those in which Korea has maintained a comparative advantage or improved the level of disadvantage, such as IT equipment and other transport equipments. Considering growth of trade flows and emergence of China, it is critical for Korea to actively participate in international production chains, create competitive edges and extend complementary relationship with trading partners.

Although additive manufacturing (AM; 3D printing/3DP) is presently in its infancy, once it becomes economically viable for mass production, it would revolutionize the operation and supply chain network of traditional businesses and manufacturing industries. To this end, approaches for ensuring a smooth transition of the economy, businesses, manufacturing centers and related services are being investigated. This review paper assesses the existing literature on the impact of AM on the maritime transportation sector.

This paper provides a systematic literature review through three methodological phases: (1) a comprehensive review of the number of English language literature studies published on the topics of AM or 3DP (1970–2021); (2) a bibliometric analysis of selected keyword combinations and (3) a detailed review on the impact of AM on different sectors.

The key findings are that existing studies do not attempt to forecast shipping volume and ton-miles that can be affected by the mainstreaming of the technology. Additionally, existing literature that focuses on the impact of the technology on different shipping categories is limited to studies on container ships.

The review identifies some potential areas of research that since maritime transportation will be affected by mainstreaming AM, it will have economic, social and environmental impacts on global trade that require future assessment.

We adopt a super slack-based measurement (SBM) data envelopment analysis (DEA) model to estimate the efficiency of five biggest freight rail operators in Russia, which are included in the top 30 freight rail operators in terms of two dimensions – financial and operational efficiency during 2013–2017. The result shows that the private companies characterized by high financial and operational efficiency, while the Rossiiskye Zheleznye Dorogi (RZD) subsidiaries characterized by sufficiently low financial and operational efficiency scores. And the result also presents that operational efficiency score of operators handling universal rolling stock is higher than financial efficiency scores. In contrast, financial efficiency scores of operators handling special rolling stock is higher than operational efficiency scores. rail freight operators in addition to a special rolling stock park should have a universal rolling stock park for higher profitability. State-owned companies and its subsidiary operate inefficiently in the midst of a market economy in Russia. Rail freight operators for a higher level of financial efficiency should be transferred to the private sector.

One of the distinctive features in Korea and the U.S. trucking industries is the huge difference in the share of owner-operators. While it is around 10~15 percent in the U.S., 80~90% of drivers operate their own truck in Korea. Different from historical explanations of previous researches, this paper deals with this feature theoretically. We examine what brings the difference in asset ownership structures between the Korean and the U.S. trucking industries. Using an analytic framework, we investigate the determinants of truck ownership and the changes in ownership patterns. The model introduces several parameters related to productivities of drivers’ efforts and contractibility to affect drivers’ decision, and values of these parameters in both countries are discussed qualitatively and found to be consistent with the aforementioned characteristics.

The purpose of this paper is to identify knowledge gaps on insinuations of possible directions of European Union (EU) and international climate policies.

This study has used participatory approach of highly experienced stakeholders’ engagement, involved directly or indirectly in the process of policymaking. A range of priority issues has been initially identified through desk analysis and key stakeholders have been selected and invited to partake in the process. Preliminary results have been validated through interaction with stakeholders during a series of workshops.

The results show the identification of a series of sectors, where climate policy is expected to focus in the future and the definition of 11 specific topics upon which knowledge gaps are expected to appear. Results on the identified knowledge needs are analysed and categorized by each prioritized main topic and compared with literature findings. Emphasis is identified to be placed on the topics of renewable energy, EU climate policy and international climate negotiations, which are the most popular ones, followed by energy policy and energy efficiency.

A key element of the approach is the consideration of key experts’ feedback on their specific area of expertise, instead of general public engagement, therefore leading to accurate results. Despite the fact that our approach was applied to a specific problem, the overall analysis could provide a framework for supporting applications in various problems in the field of priorities’ identification and even expanding to decision-making problems.

This research analyzes the development of logistics outsourcing market in two countries, Estonia and Finland, with different paths as members of the single European market. The purpose of this paper is to examine whether the two markets have become more similar or whether their logistics costs and logistics markets have developed differently over time.

The development of the logistics market is addressed through two survey-based variables. Logistics costs are used to measure the size of the logistics market, whereas logistics outsourcing is analyzed to measure the development phase as well as the market potential for logistics service provision.

Estonian logistics outsourcing market was found to be underdeveloped and small compared to the Finnish market. At the same time, the logistics costs of Finnish companies are high and rising, whereas the costs of Estonian firms are declining.

The results imply that the level of outsourcing might explain the visibility of logistics costs, which should be taken into account when making estimates on logistics costs both at the firm as well as on country level.

Logistics sector is an important source of national competitiveness and employment. This research identifies subareas for the two countries on how to develop competitiveness through the logistics market.

This research provides a unique method to estimate the size of logistics outsourcing market in these two countries. It also represents as one of the rare works to provide multiyear comparison between countries in logistics costs.

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) New Distribution Capability (NDC) standard aims at modernising the airline distribution landscape. It has supported the spread of Direct Connects by providing a common standard for linking airlines to travel agencies. The purpose of this paper is to analyse the historical development of airline distribution and to derive implications for the future.

This paper follows the approach of Yeoman and McMahon-Beattie (2017) in providing a chronological account based on published research.

Direct Connects are discussed to be a step back in the evolution of the distribution landscape because they foster disaggregation. An analysis of the history of distribution finds that a comparison of Direct Connects to the early stages of computer reservation system technology falls short to recognise the tremendous technological and market changes connected to the internet, cloud computing and the rise of low-cost carriers. Moreover, drawing on the seminal article by Anderson and Tushman (1990) on technical discontinuities and dominant designs, the current state of the distribution landscape is characterised to be an era of ferment that is driven by design competition and that might end up in a new dominant design.

The originality of this paper lies in a critical review of the turning points of distribution. By reviewing the past developments, the paper sheds light on the contribution that IATA NDC and Direct Connect technology might deliver to the field of airline distribution.

This paper aims to define and measure the environmental capabilities that are applied when the circular economy (CE) is introduced in businesses. Founded on the dynamic capabilities theoretical approach, the study analyzes different environmental competences that firms apply during this process. Environmental management systems, corporate social responsibility, reporting and accountability and other environmental accounting practices are studied in the same analytical framework used to study the environmental capabilities that influence the circular scope (CS) of firms. This study contributes to bridging the gap between academic research focused on environmental accounting and that investigating the introduction of the CE in businesses.

The results were obtained by using partial least squares structural equation modeling to analyze the relationship between environmental capabilities for the CE and the CS achieved by a sample of Spanish firms with more than 50 employees that expressed interest in the CE, eco-design, eco-innovation and other environmental issues.

Based on an analysis using the dynamic capabilities theoretical approach, the results suggest a positive relationship between the CS of firms, their environmental accounting practices and their level of corporate social responsibility (CSR) and accountability. Stakeholders’ pressure – which has a mediating effect on the CS of firms – is also analyzed, adding new insights to recent studies of this topic at the micro-level. The authors also explore whether the CS of businesses, which is related to the degree of their development of capabilities, influences environmental and financial performance.

The new insights obtained in this study can help overcome the limitations of conventional accounting approaches and incorporates a much broader scale of environmental information that can be applied to CE practices. These results also offer insights to practitioners regarding the internal measurement processes related to the CE and regarding CSR in particular for small and medium enterprises, because these metrics can be partially applied depending on the practices introduced in each firm. For policymakers, a better understanding of the CE’s introduction into businesses will contribute to the design of policies that can enhance its deployment, for example, by providing tools that set up regional priorities depending on the CE-related practices adopted by the firms located in the territory.

A CE involves the transformation of a linear economic model into a circular one to reduce dependence on raw materials and energy and to reduce the environmental impact of production and consumption. Understanding how to manage the specific competences that integrate capabilities applied to the CE will allow firms to improve their social and environmental reporting. In addition, other social implications of this study relate to improving relationships with consumers and stakeholders and to the practice of social corporate sustainability.

This study goes beyond previous research on the CE to extend the authors’ knowledge about its adoption at the micro-level by taking a transversal approach, as its subject spans the fields of environmental accounting and the CE while addressing both in a framework of analysis. The analysis of the accounting concerns of the CE in businesses and the study of concerns related to endogenous environmental competences are quite original under the theoretical framework of dynamic capabilities, and this study is a first step in an incipient line of inquiry.

While most efforts to combat climate change are focussed on energy efficiency and substitution of fossil fuels, growth in the built environment remains largely unquestioned. Given the current climate emergency and increasing scarcity of global resources, it is imperative that we address this “blind spot” by finding ways to support required services with less resource consumption.

There is now long overdue recognition to greenhouse gas emissions “embodied” in the production of building materials and construction, and its importance in reaching targets of net zero carbon by 2050. However, there is a widespread belief that we can continue to “build big”, provided we incorporate energy saving measures and select “low carbon materials” – ignoring the fact that excessive volume and area of buildings may outweigh any carbon savings. This is especially the case with commercial real estate.

As the inception and planning phases of projects offer most potential for reduction in both operational and embodied carbon, we must turn our attention to previously overlooked options such as “build nothing” or “build less”. This involves challenging the root cause of the need, exploring alternative approaches to meet desired outcomes, and maximising the use of existing assets. If new build is required, this should be designed for adaptability, with increased stewardship, so the building stock of the future will be a more valuable and useable resource.

This points to the need for increased understanding and application of the principles of strategic asset management, hitherto largely ignored in sustainability circles, which emphasize a close alignment of assets with the services they support.

Arguably, as the built environment consumes more material resources and energy than any other sector, its future configuration may be critical to the future of people and the planet. In this regard, this paper seeks to break new ground for deeper exploration.