Extra Profit Research Articles

Compounding financial frontiers: capital seeds and seeds for capital

ABSTRACT More than fifty years of civil war has left about eight million internally displaced people in Colombia, with millions struggling to make a living in new precarious urban spaces. Illicit narcoparamilitary groups, also emergent from the conflict, have dispossessed millions from their land and become vital moneylenders that enable displaced people to work and subsist in cities while profiting from them. Using the metaphor of compounding, I suggest thinking of financial frontiers as consecutive processes of expansive economic growth where one asset or principal (land dispossession and rural displacement in the Colombian case) originates exponential profits over time, benefiting narcoparamilitary groups. Such exponential gain happens gradually in circular financial transactions. Each transaction produces extra profits and opens possibilities for new financial transactions that further extract value from displacement and land dispossession. This approach helps us understand the social relations that permit capital accumulation over long periods, across geographic spaces, through political changes, and through economic shifts that determine the development of novel forms of financial power in Colombia and beyond. This article proposes a concept of compounding financial frontiers to grasp how new spaces for financial value extraction emerge and how capitalism finds the conditions for its reproduction.

Logistics service sharing of sellers on an e-commerce platform considering the behaviour of carbon emission pooling

Motivated by logistics service sharing evidences and taking the possible carbon emission pooling behaviour into consideration, we have studied the logistics service sharing and carbon emission pooling problem in an e-commerce supply chain composed of two sellers and a platform company. We first analyse the role of logistics service sharing and find that sellers are likely to share logistics services and such behaviour brings the platform company extra profits. In terms of whether logistics service sharing induces carbon emission pooling, we find that sellers may establish a carbon emission pooling mechanism and the platform company is always willing to provide a marketplace for sellers’ emission trading. Moreover, we discuss two extensions, and results show that the existence of sellers’ horizontal competition and carbon caps does not affect sellers’ and the platform company’s attitudes toward logistics service sharing and it is still necessary to establish the carbon emission pooling mechanism.

Improving startups through excellence initiatives: addressing circular economy and innovation.

This study analyses how startups implement circular business models supported by innovation and Industry 4.0, in which strategic stakeholders for value creation are to be found in this specific business ecosystem. The theoretical framework of circular business models supported by innovation was used for analysing the startups based on some assumptions of stakeholder theory. Fifty-one startups were selected, which correspond to the unit of analysis for this study on the improvement of supply chains through circular business models supported by innovation aimed at sustainability in organizations. We conducted a multiple case study whose results suggest that: (i) circularity is strategic for the business to assume its commitment to a sustainable development agenda, especially regarding pollution prevention and proactive action; (ii) visionary entrepreneurs are actively engaged with circular economy practices and technological innovation to promote a circular flow for their business ecosystem; (iii) Industry 4.0 is still incipient, but it is synergistic and beneficial for a successful circular economy in startups; and (iv) primary stakeholders are the activators of circular cycles in the startups surveyed. The present study contributes to the literature in four ways by: (i) presenting a framework which brings together exploratory theoretical propositions on strategic stakeholders for startups, innovative capabilities and assumptions of circular business models; (ii) validating exploratory theoretical propositions with 51 startups; (iii) providing lessons learned so far by the startups which are in line with the assumptions of circular business models for triggering their innovation capabilities and promoting Industry 4.0; (iv) providing an original typology of circular economy assumptions and technological innovations adopted by startups. The originality of this study lies in presenting useful insights for motivating managers to: (i) invest in circular business to become one of the first entrants and earn extra profits; (ii) make investments in circular business and technological innovations to obtain efficiency, practicality and process optimization; (iii) internalize Industry 4.0 technologies concomitantly with technological innovations and circular economy to generate systemic effects; (iv) integrate relevant stakeholders of the business ecosystem to generate a synergistic and effective effect for sustainable development.

Operation optimization strategy of a BIPV-battery storage hybrid system

Building integrated photovoltaic (BIPV) system attracts increasing attention of researchers due to environmentally friendly and saving land resource. Combining storage battery with BIPV can improve the flexibility of the entire system, which is promising for distributed renewable energy application. However, how to optimally dispatch the hourly energy flow of PV panel, storage battery and power grid based on a building load is crucial and less investigated. In the paper, a multi-restricted condition nonlinear optimization model is established for a BIPV-battery storage hybrid system under different building loads at a clear day. The optimization model was solved by fmincon function through MATLAB code. In the optimization, overall minimum daily cost including facility cost of the hybrid system, electric price and carbon price were considered as objective function to obtain optimal operation strategy of hourly power distributions of PV, battery and grid for daily building consumption. The key finding indicates that the system has high dependence on power gird when the office building load is heavy, while reduces the depending of power grid as the electrical demand is decreased. Under full-load resident building scenario, when the system with battery cost of 800 Yuan/kW·h or higher, the redundant green power generated by photovoltaic (PV) is sold to power grid in real time to earn extra profit, while the green power is accumulated in the storage batteries as storage battery cost is declined. Moreover, the resident building with BIPV-battery storage hybrid system has less dependence on power gird during day time, realizing self-sufficiency. Under all the scenarios, high storage battery cost limits the capacity of storage battery. And the CO2 emission is reduced as the BIPV-battery storage hybrid system is adopted.

Performance Analysis of Charging Infrastructure Sharing in UAV and EV-Involved Networks

Electric vehicles (EVs) and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) show great potential in modern transportation and communication networks, respectively. However, with growing demands for such technologies, the limited energy infrastructure becomes the bottleneck for their future growth. It might be of high cost and low energy efficiency for all the operators to each have their own dedicated energy infrastructure, such as charging stations. In this paper, we analyze a wireless charging infrastructure sharing strategy in UAV and EV-involved networks. We consider a scenario where UAVs can charge in EV charging stations and pay for the sharing fee. On the EVs' side, sharing infrastructure can earn extra profit but their service quality, such as waiting time, might slightly reduce. On the UAVs' side, if renting EV charging stations can achieve an acceptable system performance, say high coverage probability, while considering the cost, they may not need to build their dedicated charging stations. In this case, we use tools from stochastic geometry to model the locations and propose an optimization problem that captures the aforementioned trade-offs between cost or profit and quality of service. Our numerical results show that sharing infrastructure slightly increases the waiting time of EVs, say within 5 min, but dramatically decreases the waiting time of drones, say more than 50 min, and deploying more charging stations do achieve better performances, but all these better performances are expected to cost more.

Retailer involvement in carbon emission reduction under the Cap-and-Trade mechanism

ABSTRACT Under the ‘ Cap-and-Trade’ mechanism of carbon emission, the low carbon management of supply chain is an indispensable link in the process of enterprise emission reduction. Constrained by carbon price and consumers’ environmental awareness, this paper establishes a two-stage game model between retailers and manufacturers under decentralized and centralized decisions. Under the decentralized decision, this paper analyzes the optimal carbon emissions before and after the transfer, the conditions of transfer and the changes of profits with the proportion of transfer. Under the centralized decision, Nash equilibrium is used to study the distribution of additional profits. Conclusions are obtained as follows. (a) There are thresholds for carbon price and consumers’ environmental awareness on carbon emissions, and the optimal emissions on both sides of the threshold will vary with the cost of emission reduction. (b) In a decentralized decision, the participation of retailers in abatement depends on the market abatement costs and abatement benefits, while a certain range of transfer rates can optimize the profitability of retailers. (c) In the centralized decision, manufacturer and retailer formulate emission reduction strategies jointly and share the extra profits equally.

ANALISA PERHITUNGAN HARGA POKOK PRODUKSI DENGAN METODE JOB ORDER COSTING (STUDI KASUS PADA PERABOT SEMANTOK PERKASA BANDA ACEH)

This research examined the Semantok Perkasa Furniture company in Banda Aceh through a case study methodology and descriptive research. The purpose of this study is to create order cost cards and calculate the cost of manufacturing window sills using the job order costing method for Semantok Perkasa Furniture product lines in March 2022. By considering the actual costs incurred, Perabot Semantok Perkasa has never precisely determined the cost of production. The cost of production used to estimate the selling price is simply based on assumptions, thus the cost of raw materials and factory overhead costs cannot be accurately calculated. The findings indicated that there were gaps between the task order costing method and the company's approach for calculating the cost of manufactured goods. Because the cost of manufacturing determined by the company is less than the cost of production determined by the job order costing technique, Semantok Perkasa Furniture is expected to earn extra profit, according to the business's calculations.

Affordable housing for low-income households through floor area ratio incentive: the case of Manohara settlement in Kathmandu, Nepal

ABSTRACT The mismatch between the fast-growing urban population and limited urban infrastructure has become a challenge in many emerging cities. The lack of affordable housing leads to burgeoning informal settlements and Manohara informal settlement in Kathmandu is not an exception. This study aims to investigate the current situation in Manohara informal settlement and examine the feasibility of floor area ratio (FAR) incentive in providing affordable housing. A household survey in Manohara informal settlement and simulation analyses of FAR incentive found the followings. Firstly, given the limited budget and little control over the land of Kathmandu by the government, a planning tool focusing on development gain is a suitable option for housing provision for low-income households. Secondly, FAR incentive simulation of land size of 50,000 sq. ft. in Kathmandu shows that 50%p incentive allowance can add 33–93% extra profit to the developers in a housing project, which can be secured for affordable housing for public interest.

IDEMO ZARADITI NA SEZONSKOJ DEPRESIJI NA TRŽIŠTU DIONICA

This paper observes the possibilities of exploiting a behavioural anomaly on the stock market. Previous literature confirms the existence of Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) in return series on the Zagreb Stock Exchange. However, a comprehensive set of investment guidance based on such findings is lacking in the related literature. That is why after the confirmation of the existence of SAD effects in this research, the focus is on simulation of trading strategies that take such information into account. The results indicate that there exist SAD and fall effects on the Croatian stock market, alongside precipitation and temperature having significant effects on stock returns as well. Based on daily data ranging from January 2010 until December 2020 for the Croatian stock market index CROBEX, several strategies are observed and compared via performance measures aimed at beating the market. Even with the inclusion of transaction costs, it is shown and commented on possibilities for speculators aiming to obtain extra profits in certain situations. Simpler strategies are considered in the study. However, they provide a starting point for future strategies that combine different (mostly calendar) anomalies with the SAD anomaly. This is due to showing that SAD-driven investors who aim to apply the contrarian strategies against the herd can obtain profits due to the changing risk-aversion of others over the year.

A Research on Open Innovation of High-tech Enterprises in the New Era

In recent years, open innovation is to coordinate the internal and external resources of an enterprise, and earn extra profits through both internal and external market paths. This model has been warmly welcomed by the business community. However, under the background of taking innovation as a national strategy, the independent intellectual property rights possessed by the enterprises themselves have become more important. High-tech enterprises are the main force of enterprise innovation. The measurement of a regional economic structure and the degree of modernization are important indicators of the competitiveness of an industry, and also an important indicator of the economic development and the level of science and technology in a place. Therefore, the article takes the open innovation of high-tech enterprises in the new era as the research object.

Pricing strategy of innovative product in supply chain considering anticipated regret

Product innovation is a significant marketing strategy for enterprises to attract customers. However, innovative products may not meet consumers’ expectations, where consumers would regret and return after purchasing the products. Firstly, a Stackelberg game is constructed in this paper model under different supply chain power structures. And then, the impact of consumers’ anticipated regret and innovation attributes are discussed on the equilibrium results and supply chain profit through theoretical comparison and numerical simulation. The results show that: (1) Sales enterprise can adopt the strategy of pricing penetration to promote the demand and avoid selling risk. (2) Enterprise can provide customers with high value-added services to increase profit. (3) Manufacturing enterprise can adopt the additive value strategy to promote consumption and gain extra profit. The conclusion can provide reference opinions for enterprises’ innovation and pricing decision-making. However, the different regret coefficients for innovative products and current products are not considered in this paper. Further the situation is considered in which consumers purchase current product, discount product and innovative product.

What should lenders be more concerned about? Developing a profit-driven loan default prediction model

Reliable and effective loan default risk prediction can help regulators and lenders effectively identify risky loan applicants and develop proactive and timely response measures to enhance the stability of the financial system. Traditional prediction models concentrate more on improving loan default prediction accuracy, while neglecting to take profit maximization as the goal and evaluation measure of model construction. In this study, a novel profit-driven prediction model is proposed, taking a profit indicator as the optimization objective of the Bayesian optimization to optimize the hyperparameters of the predictor-categorical boosting. The Shapley additive explanations (SHAP) value is then calculated to further interpret the relationship between the input variables and the predicted values. Based on two datasets from Renrendai and Lending Club, the experimental results and statistical test indicate that the proposed model achieves the highest profit-related evaluation metrics values, with the mean average extra profit rate values of 3.0872% and 2.1858% respectively, and the mean Profit values of 5168.8762 and 352.9787 in two datasets respectively. SHAP value further reveals the key factors that will impact predictive output, which provides more valuable information for platforms and lenders for identifying possible defaulters.

Examining the Contagion Effect of Credit Risk in a Supply Chain under Trade Credit and Bank Loan Offering

Supply chain finance can alleviate participants’ capital constraints and optimize their cash flow. However, demand risk can cause debtors to default on their creditors, which can spread the contagion effect of credit risk along the entire supply chain. In this study, we examine a dual-channel financing model, in which the capital-constrained retailer can seek both loans from the bank and trade credit from the manufacturer. The capital-constrained manufacturer can also obtain bank loans. Using a game theoretical approach, we find the equilibrium of the operational and financing decisions of the manufacturer, retailer, and bank. We find that the dual-channel financing increases the retailer’s order quantity and thus provides additional value to all participants. Under dual-channel financing, the contagion effect of credit risk is higher when the retailer prioritizes repaying the bank loan rather than repaying trade credit, and the contagion effect also depends on the bank loan ratio and production costs. Compared with single-channel financing, dual-channel financing lowers the contagion effect of credit risk. The findings are consistent when the bank offers a unique interest rate to both the manufacturer and retailer based on its pooled profit. Counterintuitively, we find that the traditional financing tools adopted by banks in single-channel financing, such as reducing the credit line to reduce credit risk, will have the opposite effect in dual-channel financing. Our findings provide important implications that urge participants to use dual-channel financing to alleviate capital constraints, earn extra profits, and reduce the contagion effect of supply chain credit risk.

Defending business interests in Russia: collective action and social investments as bargaining chips

ABSTRACT The collective organization of business interests in Russia is commonly considered weak. In some cases, however, business associations have succeeded in representing interests vis-à-vis the state. This article analyses an illustrative case of state–business negotiations regarding an extra profit tax for several chemical and metallurgical companies, proposed by the presidential administration in August 2018. Based on a case study involving media and interview data, the study examines the role of collective action under the auspices of the ‘Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs’ (RUIE) in defending business interests. It identifies the necessary conditions under which collective action was effective in this specific case, and critically discusses the possible contingency of the given constellation in light of inherently asymmetrical relations between state and business actors. Furthermore, the article develops an analytical framework with which business associations and their lobbying activities under authoritarian capitalism can be analysed beyond the Russian case.

Effect of supplementation of probiotics and rumen buffer on performance of lactating buffaloes

The study involved 12 Murrah buffaloes which were divided into two groups of six each viz. Control (T0) and Treatment group (T1). The buffaloes from Group T0 received standard concentrate mixture and roughages as per the routine practice of the farm. Whereas Group T1 received same ration as that of Group T0 along with supplement containing probiotics like yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae), bacteria (Bacillus subtilis, Bacillus pumilus and Bacillus amyloliquifaciens) and rumen buffer 10 g/day/animal. The experiment lasted for 91 days. The average daily milk yield and FCM yield, DMI, TDN and DCP intake of buffaloes from Treatment group (T1) was significantly (P˂0.01) higher than Control group. The efficiency of feed utilization in terms of dry matter required per kg of FCM yield produced was significantly (P˂0.01) better in Group T1 than Control group. The average milk fat, protein, total solids, SNF and lactose percentage of Group T1 was significantly (P˂0.01) higher than Control group. The average somatic cell count of milk of buffaloes form Group T1 was significantly (P˂0.05) lower than Control group. The economics of the study showed an extra profit of ₹ 25.20 in Supplemented group over Control group.

BESS frequency regulation strategy on the constraints of planned energy arbitrage using chance-constrained programming

Battery energy storage systems (BESS) are regarded as a multi-functional power system participator, participating in the energy arbitrage strategy (EAS), the frequency regulation strategy (FRS) and so on. However, the existing BESS mainly make profit from the EAS instead of the FRS in many countries such as China. Because there is no appropriate control strategy for BESS, when the developing ancillary services market cannot price the contribution of BESS in FRS. Meanwhile, BESS do have redundant power and capacity, if only the EAS is applied. Therefore, it is significant that BESS are involved in the FRS, that the EAS has the priority in BESS utilization. In this paper, a frequency regulation strategy for the user-side BESS is proposed, on the constraints of the planned energy arbitrage. Specifically, the chance-constrained programming is applied to solve the randomness of frequency regulation requirement, ensuring the BESS profit from the EAS. Also, the exiting BESS are fully used with extra profit from FRS. At last, the promising results prove the advantages of the proposed FRS.

Long‐term conservation agriculture effects on corn profitability in West Tennessee

AbstractCrop rotations, cover crops, and poultry litter (PL) under no tillage (NT) may improve soil health and crop yields. However, farmers’ adoption depends on whether they can generate extra profits. This study evaluated profitability of NT corn (Zea mays L.) in monoculture versus rotations with soybean (Glycine max L.) and cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) with or without winter covers from 2002 to 2017. Whole‐block treatments were cropping rotations with monoculture (control) versus nine, 4‐yr cropping sequences (phases) repeated four times (I, II, III, and IV). Split‐block treatments were no cover versus winter covers of PL, hairy vetch (Vicia villosa L.), and wheat (Triticum aestivum L.). Different phases influenced yields and net returns (NRs; p < .05), with the greatest NRs in Phase IV, and the lowest in Phase III. Rotation interacted with phase to influence corn yield and NRs (p < .01), with positive rotation effects occurring in Phase IV. Covers influenced yields and NRs over 16 yr (p < .01). Vetch cover resulted in the highest corn yields, whereas wheat cover was the lowest. However, no cover plots produced NRs greater than any other cover. Enhanced yields or cost savings due to reduced fertilizer from covers did not offset cover costs. Lowering costs of PL, hairy vetch, and wheat by 70, 68, and 100%, respectively, from their base values produced equivalent NRs to no cover. Thus, farmers may need subsidies to adopt conservation agriculture‐based practices.

Do managers capture the value they create? Drivers of managers' value capture in a large retail chain

AbstractResearch SummaryWe investigate the relationship between value creation and value capture among frontline managers. Using longitudinal data from a restaurant chain, we find that those managers who persistently create more value for the firm capture just 0.5% of that extra value through their pay. We explore the reasons for this limited managerial value capture using an abductive approach. We find some evidence that value capture may be limited by lack of alternative employment opportunities. More extensive evidence suggests that the employer often struggled to identify individual contributions to value creation, limiting managerial rewards. We discuss the theoretical implications of such limited managerial value capture for the strategic human capital literature.Managerial SummaryFrontline managers can differ in how much they contribute to firm profitability. Do those managers who contribute the most to firm performance also capture those benefits back through higher pay? In a study of restaurant managers, we find that managers differ substantially in the profits that they create, but that the most profitable managers only capture 0.5% of the extra profits they create. We also find evidence that the firm often fails to identify which managers are the most persistently profitable, potentially reducing the rewards paid to those managers. By demonstrating that differences in performance are not balanced by differences in pay, we show how high‐performing managers can be an important strategic resource for organizations.

Double-edged migration policies and transnational rent-seeking interests

There have been contradictory trends in migration policies in advanced countries since the 1990s: states have actively recruited desirable immigrants while they continued to deter and exclude unwanted migrants. The case of Japanese state not only represents this trend, but also shows a profoundly paradoxical case in the sense that it officially negated incorporation of “immigrants” consistently though it has built up multiple channels of transnational labor supply for their urgent needs. It is particularly so because Japan has maintained the divergent policies in the middle of well-known demographic crisis with aging population. These bifurcated policies can be understood partially by the growing role of “migration industry” in the neoliberal era as recent research showed. However, simultaneous development of migration control machines and building migration pipelines urges us to make a further conceptual breakthrough. This paper introduces the concept of “rent-seeking” activities of stake holders of migration policies to explain persistent gaps between rigid state control of labor flows and active opening of diverse gates for supply of necessary labor by state initiatives. Emerging neo-liberal elites are seeking extra profit through institutional framework which creates oligopolistic market structure by new side door policies such as National Strategic Special Zones for domestic workers and most recent new visa for middle skilled workers. This analysis of rent-seeking of contemporary migrant policies will open fresh eyes on contemporary immigration policies in different national contexts.

The US-China trade war and the emergence of market power in commodity markets

ABSTRACT The article explores the indirect link between the trade war between China-US and deforestation in Brazil. China imposed tariffs that have eliminated American soy exports by November 2018. Higher soybean prices usually increase deforestation in Brazil. We estimate nonlinear autoregressive distributed lag models combined with multiple breakpoint tests to analyze price transmission changes over time. We show that market power emerges in the short run, while long-run price pass-through is close to complete. Extra profits from unexpected market power should induce land clearing for expanding soy production, a problem compounded by lax regulation, and reduced budgets for combating deforestation in Brazil. Results also suggest that effects on deforestation rates should be temporary. Given that the covid19 pandemic brings about a similar shock to global food markers, particularly demand for Brazilian soy, we expect a similar pattern of emergence of market power in the short but not long-run.