Energy cost saving starts on the shop floor

This paper describes how one company, the British subsidiary of an American multinational, met the problem of continually rising energy costs with a carefully co-ordinated energy conservation programme. This was linked with a pollution prevention programme and the environment and energy used an equation for cutting costs.     

A Heuristic Algorithm for the Capacitated Multiple Supplier Inventory Grouping Problem

This paper presents and solves a model for the multiple supplier inventory grouping problem, which involves the minimization of logistics costs for a firm that has multiple suppliers with capacity limitations. The costs included in the model are purchasing, transportation, ordering, and inventory holding, while the firm's objective is to determine the optimal flows and groups of commodities from each supplier. We present an algorithm, which combines subgradient optimization and a primal heuristic, to quickly solve the multiple supplier inventory grouping problem. Our algorithm is tested extensively on problems of various sizes and structures, and its performance is compared to that of OSL, a state-of-the-art integer programming code. The computational results indicate that our approach is extremely efficient for solving the multiple supplier inventory grouping problem.     

The value of board monitoring in promoting R&D: a test of agency-theory in the US context

Prior agency-theory research has presented conflicting findings regarding the importance of board monitoring in motivating R&D. We reinvestigate this literature by examining the value monitoring exerts in abating both the agency costs of underinvestment and overinvestment in R&D. We argue that monitoring that relies on board independence has both benefits and costs associated with promoting R&D. While we assert that intense monitoring by the board heightens underinvestment in the US context, it can also provide discipline over a firms free cash flows. We test our theory using a longitudinal panel data set consisting of a cross-section of S&P 1500 US-firms between 1997 and 2007. On average our study finds inside directors increase overinvestment in R&D, but facilitate better resource allocation when a firm has rich growth opportunities. Also, while too much emphasis on outside directors heightens underinvestment in R&D, a more independent board encourages better resource allocation when firms have high free cash flows that need to be paid back to owners. Thus, our results suggest a more inclusive perspective of agency-theory can help managers make better R&D investment decisions.     

The Dynamics of International Competitiveness: First Results from an Analysis at the Industry Level

The paper uses the key role of technology as starting point in determining trade flows and international competitiveness at industry and country level as a growing number of theoretical contributions and empirical verifications have recognized over the past decade. The paper uses a set of new data on trade, production, technology and costs at industry level for a certain number of countries to relate trade performance to a set of different economic and technological factors across countries and industrial sectors since the early 1970s. A single model of trade specialization is applied to the data in order to establish the impact of innovation, costs and country specific factors to overall performance, both in the short run and the long run, via a panel data analysis. Model specification follows the cointegration approach, where a long-run cointegrating vector is estimated along with the dynamic adjustment towards long-run equilibrium. The paper presents some preliminary results, related to a certain number of different industrial sectors for the major industrialized countries.     

火力发电企业离散决策及其对碳排放权价格影响

随着碳交易市场的建立,对于参与减排企业,如何制定合理的减排决策从而降低减排成本成为了一个重要问题。在有效市场下,参与减排企业的边际成本将直接影响碳排放权价格的走势。以往研究大多基于连续时间模型,运用动态优化原理解决此类问题。而事实上,企业的决策过程是离散的,这是由于碳排放权不能跨期交易,如果简单连续化会使得企业有过度减排的可能,与现实不符。基于此,本文以电力企业为例,运用动态优化方法,建立电力企业的离散减排决策模型,从而得出企业的最优边际减排成本,为政府调控碳排放权市场提供理论指导。为了验证模型,本文采用深圳碳排放权的相关实际数据进行数值模拟。研究表明,当企业做出离散减排决策时,企业的减排成本及边际减排成本与初始排放量、配额、单位惩罚成本、减排决策次数等因素相关。企业的离散决策会使得企业的边际减排成本波动加大,进而可能引起碳排放权市场的动荡,但企业的离散决策更有利于企业完成减排任务。     

A Liquidity-based Model of Security Design

We consider the problem of the design and sale of a security backed by specified assets. Given access to higher-return investments, the issuer has an incentive to raise capital by securitizing part of these assets. At the time the security is issued, the issuer's or underwriter's private information regarding the payoff of the security may cause illiquidity, in the form of a downward-sloping demand curve for the security. The severity of this illiquidity depends upon the sensitivity of the value of the issued security to the issuer's private information. Thus, the security-design problem involves a tradeoff between the retention cost of holding cash flows not included in the security design, and the liquidity cost of including the cash flows and making the security design more sensitive to the issuer's private information. We characterize the optimal security design in several cases. We also demonstrate circumstances under which standard debt is optimal and show that the riskiness of the debt is increasing in the issuer's retention costs for assets.     

Energy modelling for technology assessment: the MARKAL approach

The primary objective of energy policy in many countries is to change the structure of their energy systems so as to reduce the dependence on imported oil. A large amount of funds is spent on energy research and development. The technologies competing for such funds have widely varying characteristics. These relate to costs and benefits, technical performance, environmental effects, the requirements for land, water and materials and the impact on employment. It is necessary to analyse these effects in some detail before decisions on technology programmes can be made. A complete assessment of the possible value of a particular technology cannot be made on an individual basis. It is necessary to consider many technologies simultaneously, competing against each other for various shares of the energy market. However, analysing the behaviour of the entire energy system requires the handling of an extensive amount of data and can only be done effectively with the help of a computerised system. The model, MARKAL, described in this paper is a multi-period linear programming model which has been developed and applied by 15 OECD countries for the purpose of energy technology research and development planning. Examples of the use of the model for this purpose are given both for the group as a whole and for individual countries. The model is structured so that an exogenously specified set of end-use demands must be satisfied given available technologies and energy supplies. The model allows for substitution possibilities in both the energy supply and demand sectors. A feature of the model is the use of varying objective functions such as minimum discounted costs, oil imports, or environmental effluents. These can be used individually or in combination in trade-off situations. The broader question of the use of energy modelling for technology assessment, including its limitations, is also discussed with particular reference to the insights that can be gained from the MARKAL model. Information from the MARKAL model has been used by the International Energy Agency to assist it in formulating a strategy for energy research development and demonstration.     

模糊环境下不对称企业的技术创新投资期权博弈分析

本文在不对称双头垄断期权博弈模型基础上讨论了利润流现值和沉没投资成本为梯形模糊数的情形并进行了扩展,对企业技术创新投资策略进行了分析。构建了模糊环境下追随者、领导者的投资价值和投资临界值的模糊表达式并进行数值分析。分析表明模糊环境下仍存在最优投资策略,随着梯形模糊数的沉没投资成本期望值的增加,企业的投资价值下降而投资临界值上升。为模糊环境下投资决策提供了一种解释。     

舆情传播中考虑公众风险感知的多资源流应急优化调度

针对舆情传播背景下应急资源调度问题的特殊性,首先运用多案例分析进行了具体描述。然后,考虑到公众的有限理性,运用前景理论对其风险感知行为进行了刻画,并给出了保留供应率的定义。进一步,运用模糊理论来刻画公众追溯以往的资源供应状况,在同时考虑到供应点和配送中心的能力扩充基础上,构建了多种类资源应急优化调度的0-1混合整数非线性模糊规划模型。最后,以2011年东日本大地震事件为例验证了理论研究的有效性,并考查了决策者在控制公众风险感知中的偏好行为对最优调度方案的影响。     

The combination of forecasts in the trading of electricity from renewable energy sources

The legal support provided by the ‘Act on Granting Priority to Renewable Energy Sources’ (German Erneuerbare Energien Gesetz, EEG) and its precursor has in the last 20 years led to a marked growth in Germany in the use of renewable energies to generate electricity. As a result of the EEG amendment adopted in the summer of 2011 and in force since 1 January 2012, the market integration of electricity generated from renewable energy sources (RES-E) has become more important. Consequently, the economic importance of trading RES-E has also increased. A major role in determining costs in trading electricity from wind and solar energy on the wholesale markets plays the forecasting method used. If a forecast inaccurately predicts the amount of electricity actually generated, one result could be elevated costs in the trading process. In the beginning of this article we introduce the legal framework governing the trading of RES-E. Subsequently, we present a method for combining several individual forecasting methods. Finally, using empirical data, we show that in comparison to the best available individual forecast, the proposed combined forecast results in a clear improvement of forecasting quality as well as in a reduction in trading costs.     

Models of the future

Existing world models are criticized for the omission of feedback effects. Modifications to existing models are considered implausible, and a very simple structure representing the system by stocks and flows of energy is proposed. The planning implications of such simple models are explored in terms of risk evaluation. The analysis of a possible risk situation yields a dimensionless quantity relating capital investment, depletion rate, investment fraction and efficiency. This quantity is shown to be critical in determining the existence of discontinuities in the growth curve, independent of the desired level of growth.     

Turnover and Excess Worker Reallocation. The Veneto Labour Market between 1982 and 1996

This research exploits a large matched employer–employee data set for an Italian region, the Veneto, that is presented here for the first time, in order to analyse job and worker flows. In a first part, the paper computes worker turnover, job turnover, and excess worker reallocation over a time span of 14 years. The results are discussed, and comparisons are made between the quantitative features of the labour market in the Veneto region and those of other labour markets. In a second part, turnover and excess worker reallocation are related to search costs, and new empirical evidence is presented that helps in understanding the connections between search activity, unemployment, and the economic cycle.     

A methodological approach to strategic petroleum reserves

Energy constitutes a small fraction of the production inputs in the economy, yet the rigidity imposed by the short and medium term inability to substitute energy with other production factors in case of an energy shortage, requires the establishment of safeguard mechanisms to ensure sufficient energy supply during an emergency. These safeguards usually take the form of strategic energy reserves. A methodological approach is presented here, relating the level of strategic petroleum reserves, the decision variable, with the costs associated with their storage and the economic losses incurred by an energy shortage. This approach is based on the use of a decision tree, to portray emergency scenarios. Each scenario, a branch of the decision tree, can be evaluated in terms of a cost function which includes the inventory procurement and maintenance cost and the shortage cost inflicted by a petroleum shortfall.     

Technological change and energy consumption in US iron and steel manufacturing

This paper examines the extent to which the rising relative energy prices of the past decade have influenced managerial decisions in U.S. iron and steel manufacturing. Efforts at energy conservation, as well as opportunities for short-run substitutions among energy sources, were constrained mainly by existing process technology. The actual pattern of substitution can be explained to a large extent by changes in techniques. Decisions concerning such investments were guided by many factors, among which considerations of energy savings played only a minor role. This observation can be explained by the fact that, although the industry in the aggregate is a prodigious consumer of energy, energy costs at any one production stage are but a small fraction of total variable costs. Integrated greenfield plants embodying state-of-the-art technology would achieve much higher levels of energy efficiency than are currently realized, but such new plants are unlikely to be built in the United States, under the current conditions of global excess capacity.     

Does a combined strategy outperform independent policies? Impact of incentive policies on renewable power generation

Incentives for renewable energy based on feed-in-tariffs (FITs) and the renewable portfolio standard (RPS) have succeeded in reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from the power generation sector. Although numerous countries have adopted a strategy combining both approaches, few studies compare its performance with either the individual FITs or RPS approach. To evaluate the effects of these three policy instruments, this study takes market transactions into account, such as net transfers to the renewable and non-renewable sectors, RPS allocation, and renewable certificate/credit (RECs) exchange. It proposes central planning, bi-level regulation, and regulation under screening as the three market structure scenarios to construct its cases and includes social welfare in the incentive performance index. Further, this study extends to cases of asymmetric information by means of optimal control to reflect market reality for comparison. The numerical examples and counterfactual analyses reach the following conclusions. First, a combined incentive policy performs best when renewable power is in its early stage of development. Second, an integrated incentive policy may neutralize the drastic volatility of FITs or the RPS. Third, the RPS is a favorable approach when the levelized cost of renewable energy is lower than that of non-renewable, while FITs do well when the costs of renewable and non-renewable energy differ slightly. The key policy implication is that along with the reduction in renewable energy generation costs, an RPS and RECs exchange mechanism or combined strategy might be adopted for social welfare benefits, the benefit of the power plants or the TSOs, respectively.     

产品回收逆向物流网络优化设计模型

为了在传统正向物流网络基础上扩建产品回收逆向物流网络,基于混合整数线性规划方法建立了一种单产品、有能力限制的产品回收逆向物流网络优化设计模型,据此确定物流网络中各种设施的数量和位置,并在由此构成的各条物流路径上合理分配物流量,以使各种设施的投资和运营成本之和最小。给出了提高模型求解效率的Benders分解算法,并通过算例验证了模型和算法的有效性。     

Integrating risk assessment and life cycle assessment: a case study of insulation.

Increasing residential insulation can decrease energy consumption and provide public health benefits, given changes in emissions from fuel combustion, but also has cost implications and ancillary risks and benefits. Risk assessment or life cycle assessment can be used to calculate the net impacts and determine whether more stringent energy codes or other conservation policies would be warranted, but few analyses have combined the critical elements of both methodologies In this article, we present the first portion of a combined analysis, with the goal of estimating the net public health impacts of increasing residential insulation for new housing from current practice to the latest International Energy Conservation Code (IECC 2000). We model state-by-state residential energy savings and evaluate particulate matter less than 2.5 microm in diameter (PM2.5), NOx, and SO2 emission reductions. We use past dispersion modeling results to estimate reductions in exposure, and we apply concentration-response functions for premature mortality and selected morbidity outcomes using current epidemiological knowledge of effects of PM2.5 (primary and secondary). We find that an insulation policy shift would save 3 x 10(14) British thermal units or BTU (3 x 10(17) J) over a 10-year period, resulting in reduced emissions of 1,000 tons of PM2.5, 30,000 tons of NOx, and 40,000 tons of SO2. These emission reductions yield an estimated 60 fewer fatalities during this period, with the geographic distribution of health benefits differing from the distribution of energy savings because of differences in energy sources, population patterns, and meteorology. We discuss the methodology to be used to integrate life cycle calculations, which can ultimately yield estimates that can be compared with costs to determine the influence of external costs on benefit-cost calculations.     

Knowledge and Organization in the Theory of the Multinational Corporation: Some Foundational Issues

This paper addresses the interaction of knowledge and organization in IB research, particularly research on the MNC. The argument is advanced that although the MNC literature is quite advanced with respect to its treatment of firm-level knowledge, several closely connected problems remain. In particular, there has been an over-emphasis on knowledge flows and an under-emphasis on knowledge stocks; the micro-foundations of MNC knowledge are unclear; and there is a no clear understanding of the causal relations between knowledge stocks and flows and organizational control. A control theory approach that may resolve some of these problems is then sketched.     

Corporate governance and the market reaction to stock repurchase announcement

This paper investigates the effect of corporate governance on market reaction around of a stock repurchase announcement. We argue that corporate governance affects the ability of a stock repurchase to alleviate agency costs related to free cash flows, and the credibility of the undervaluation signal sent by the announcement of buyback programs. We find a higher 3-day cumulative abnormal return to programs announced by firms with better corporate governance practices than those with bad governance (1.6% and 0.85% respectively), and the market reaction is significantly higher following the successive scandals in year 2001 (Enron, Arthur Anderson, WorldCom??) and the resulting Sarbanes?COxley Act of 2002. Further investigations indicate that firms with a lower Free Cash Flow to Asset ratio have a higher market reaction, which is consistent with the information signaling hypothesis, and this is more significant in firms with good governance practices, and following post Sarbanes?COxley Act.     

Strategic Management of Operations in the Emergency Department

This study is based on the analysis of field data on the revenues and patient flows that we collected on all adult emergency department (ED) visits to a level‐1 trauma, tertiary referral center. Our objective was to provide researchers in operations a rich overview of the processes, resources, and metrics of financial and operations performance in the ED. We analyze how patients, physicians, hospitals/physician employer groups, and payers are party to the value created and financial workflow of the ED. A waterfall model for professional services revenue is developed that highlights the impacts of changes in processes, resources, scale, complexity, and mix of patients treated in the ED. We also discuss future implications of new compensation models and potential scenarios that will focus upon controlling costs while maximizing population health and patient satisfaction. These models will necessitate re‐engineering of operations in the ED from a strategic perspective. Four major thrusts for selecting the capacity portfolio in the ED operations to align the interests of all the stakeholders are recommended. New avenues for research are also identified.