Government Policy Support Research Articles

Factors influencing small and medium enterprises’ innovativeness: Evidence from manufacturing companies in Harare, Zimbabwe

AbstractThe study investigated factors influencing innovativeness in small and medium enterprises (SMEs). Using empirical data from 330 SMEs, structural equation modelling was employed to test the factors that influence innovativeness at the level of the firm, namely the firm's resources, government support and institutional policies, networks and collaborations, the organization's innovative culture, local knowledge diffusion, and facilitating conditions. Results show that the firm's resources, government support and institutional policies, and networks and collaborations each positively influences innovativeness at the level of the firm. On the contrary, the organization's innovative culture, local knowledge diffusion and facilitating conditions were found to have insignificant effects on innovativeness. It is recommended that, to increase innovativeness, SMEs should invest in building up their resources in terms of both tangible and intangible resources. They can also lobby the government for support and to institute policies that promote innovativeness. Furthermore, SMEs are advised to build networks and collaborations with other institutions such as colleges, universities, research institutions and well‐established and innovative firms. SMEs in developing and emerging markets can benefit from these findings.

Analysis of carbon emission drivers of secondary industries in Energy "Golden Triangle" area based on LMDI and two-dimensional decoupling model.

As an essential energy and chemical base in China, carbon reduction in the Energy "Golden Triangle" (EGT) area is significant. This paper used the logarithmic mean Divisia index (LMDI) method to analyze the drivers of carbon emissions from secondary industry energy consumption (CESEC) in EGT from 2005 to 2019 and then used the GM (1,1) method to simulate carbon emissions in 2030. Meanwhile, the decoupling relationship between carbon emissions and economic development was also analyzed using the two-dimensional decoupling model to test the effectiveness of carbon reduction by the region's government. This paper showed the following: (1) CESEC in the EGT area increased from 1.89×108t to 2.617×108 t; (2) the economic output effect is the main factor influencing carbon emissions in the EGT area, followed by population effect and energy structure effect, while energy intensity effect mitigates carbon emissions; and (3) CESEC will peak at 12.362×108t in 2030, leaving an arduous task on carbon reduction. The two-dimensional decoupling condition between carbon emissions and economic growth in the EGT area is low level-weak decoupling (WD-LE) for 2005-2019. The decoupling condition in Yulin and Ningdong is concentrated in low level-expansion connection (EC-LE) and low level-weak decoupling (WD-LE). Furthermore, Erdos reached high level-expansion negative decoupling (END-HE) condition during 2015-2019. Based on the above findings, a low-carbon development strategy for EGT should consider improving emission reduction technologies for high-carbon energy sources like coal, adjusting the energy consumption structure and seeking government policy support for carbon reduction.

Sustainable energy security for Central Asia: Exploring the role of China and the United Nations

Energy is critical for assuring quality of life and underpins the attainment of the internationally agreed United Nations Agenda for Sustainable Development. Countries from the Central Asia region, specifically Kazakhstan, will by 2050 need to reduce their dependence on fossil fuels from over 80% to around 50% in order for them to achieve significant negative carbon emissions thus abide by agreed international limits. However, Kazakhstan lacks the capacity to undertake such a transition alone. International support from major nations and organisations would play a vital role in energy transition of Kazakhstan. By using policy documents on renewable energy projects and databases on auction-based energy projects over the last ten years, this article aims to analyse the existing international cooperation in sustainable energy between Kazakhstan and China, as well as with United Nations. The article argues that China and the United Nations play unique and critical roles in supporting sustainable energy security in Kazakhstan. The former as a “helper” of energy transition and exporter of technologies, techniques and capital to Kazakhstan provides support through business know-how and, most importantly, investments. The latter brings together international partners for capacity building through policy support and consulting of government. Both are essential in forming an equitable sustainable energy paradigm through iENERGY model (interconnectivity, interplay, intelligent) to achieve the respective climate and energy targets. A further deepening of ties through iENERGY model could serve as an international standard and example of cooperation in energy transition and it could bring long-term prosperity in sustainable economic growth, political stability, and energy security for Central Asian region and China.

A multi-objective approach to kitchen waste and excess sludge co-digestion for biomethane production with anaerobic digestion

This study examined anaerobic co-digestion (AcoD) and separate anaerobic digestion (SAD) treatments to explore the best kitchen waste (KW) and excess sludge (ES) resource utilization schemes for biomethane conversion. We developed a multi-objective mathematical model to optimize the process, and technology and policy factors were considered to maximize biomethane production and profit generation. The proposed methodology was then applied to a real-life case to demonstrate its practicality and efficiency, and scenario analyses were conducted under four different KW and ES mixing ratios to generate practical waste recovery and biomethane conversion suggestions. We demonstrated that anaerobic digestion technology coupled with suitable government policy support could significantly improve the KW and ES recovery efficiency. We found that AcoD was superior to SAD, and a 1:2 mixing ratio achieved the best biomethane conversion and economic benefits.

Impact of tourism development upon environmental sustainability: a suggested framework for sustainable ecotourism.

The empirical research investigated the relationship between tourism development and environmental suitability to propose a framework for sustainable ecotourism. The framework suggested a balance between business and environmental interests in maintaining an ecological system with the moderating help of government support and policy interventions. The study population encompasses tourism stakeholders, including tourists, representatives from local communities, members of civil administration, hoteliers, and tour operators serving the areas. A total of 650 questionnaires were distributed to respondents, along with a brief description of key study variables to develop a better understanding. After verifying the instrument’s reliability and validity, data analysis was conducted via hierarchical regression. The study findings revealed that a substantial number of people perceive socio-economic benefits, including employment and business openings, infrastructure development from tourism development, and growth. However, the state of the natural and environmental capital was found to be gradually degrading. Alongside the social environment, social vulnerability is reported due to the overutilization of land, intrusion from external cultures, and pollution in air and water due to traffic congestion, accumulation of solid waste, sewage, and carbon emissions. The study suggested a model framework for the development of sustained ecotourism, including supportive government policy interventions to ensure effective conservation of environmental and natural resources without compromising the economic viability and social well-beings of the locals. Furthermore, the variables and the constructs researched can be replicated to other destinations to seek valuable inputs for sustainable destination management elsewhere.

Green Technology Innovation, Energy Consumption Structure and Sustainable Improvement of Enterprise Performance

In order to promote the coordinated development of social and economic development and the natural environment, high-end equipment manufacturing (HEM) enterprises should promote the sustainable development of the green economy. In this process, HEM enterprises need to strengthen the green technology innovation ability and optimize the energy consumption structure. In this way, it will be beneficial to the sustainable improvement of HEM enterprise performance. On the basis of sorting out relevant research literature, this study uses structural equation modeling and hierarchical regression analysis to systematically study the impact of green technology innovation on the continuous improvement of HEM enterprise performance. Currently, there are many difficulties in the research of this paper, such as variable selection, index measurement, empirical testing process and so on. However, based on the success of previous academic research, this paper overcame the difficulties and completed this research. In this study, the energy consumption structure is an intermediary variable, and the government policy support is a moderator variable. A relationship model of the impact of green technology innovation on the continuous improvement of HEM enterprises’ performance is constructed. In addition, the author conducts a confirmatory analysis of the relationship between multiple variables. The conclusions of this study are as follows: (1) Green technology innovation has a significant positive impact on the performance improvement of HEM enterprises. (2) Energy consumption structure plays a partial mediating role between green technology innovation and enterprise performance improvement. (3) Government policy support regulates the relationship between green technology innovation and HEM enterprise performance improvement. That is to say that the stronger the government’s policy support for green technology innovation, the stronger the green technology innovation impetus of HEM enterprises, and the better the effect of HEM enterprise performance improvement.

The Domestic Impact of International Shaming: Evidence from Climate Change and Human Rights.

Do international shaming efforts affect citizens’ support for government policies? While it is a frequent claim in the literature that shaming works through domestic politics, we know little about how and when international criticism affects domestic public opinion. We address this question through an originally designed survey experiment in Sweden, which (i) compares the effects of international shaming in two issue areas—human rights and climate change, and (ii) tests whether government responses to criticism moderate the impact of shaming. Our main findings are fourfold. First, we find substantial effects of international shaming on domestic public opinion. These effects hold across both issue areas and irrespective of whether citizens support government parties or not. Second, human rights shaming has a stronger impact on citizens’ support for government policies than climate shaming. Third, shaming is most effective among citizens who are more supportive of climate action, human rights, and international cooperation. Finally, our findings are mixed with respect to the effect of government responses. While government responses do not moderate the effects of human rights shaming, they seem to mitigate the effects of climate shaming.

Failure mode and effects analysis of telehealth service of minority elderly for sustainable digital transformation

BackgroundTelehealth services are time- and cost-saving solutions for disease management for older adults. Minority older individuals with multiple risk factors have an increasing demand for telehealth services. There are insufficient data on patient safety in telehealth services. This study aimed to enhance the quality of telehealth services by reducing errors and creating a safe user environment for low-income older adults. Failure mode and effects analysis tool (FMEA) was adopted to manage potential risks for sustainable digital transformation. MethodAn eight-member multidisciplinary team conducted telehealth FMEA to determine risk priority numbers (RPNs). The process included identifying the potential cause and effect failure mode of each step; measuring severity, probability, and detectability scores for RPNs; and generating strategies to decrease potential failures. ResultsThis study identified 24 risk factors and 34 causes in four major phases with a mean RPN of 90.7: preparation to measure biosignals, measurement of biosignals following instructions from a personal device, confirmation of measurement results, and intervention based on disease or condition type. Risk prioritization revealed four high failure modes and a total RPN of 362.7. Based on fundamental causes, risks were categorized as oblivescence, economic issues, and technology literacy. ConclusionsTo correct these failure modes, stabilization of the platform, adding to the providers’ manpower, and support for government policies are recommended. FMEA identifies and evaluates the potential risks of telehealth services. The selected priorities reduce the clinical risks of low-income elders who use telehealth services by weighting clinical actions.

Direct absorption nanofluid-based solar collectors for low and medium temperatures. A review

Solar energy is expected to play an important role in the decarbonization of the energy and industrial sectors. Low and medium temperature (<400 °C) solar thermal collectors have proved to be a reliable solution to supply heat and decarbonize the industrial sector, with over 800 Solar Heat for Industrial Processes (SHIP) plants put in operation in the last decade. Governmental support policy is a key factor for solar thermal energy to play a major role in CO2 emission reduction, which require improving the efficiency of solar collectors and reducing costs. Recent studies have demonstrated the potential of nanoparticles to enhance the optical properties of heat transfer fluids for direct absorption solar collectors (DASC). In a DASC the transfer fluid absorbs volumetrically the incident radiation, resulting in a more homogeneous temperature distribution and less heat losses than in conventional surface collectors. In this paper, the current state-of-the-art of SHIP installations and conventional surface collectors is presented, and a critical literature review dedicated to nanofluid-based DASC for both concentrating and non-concentrating collectors is provided. The key findings and the challenges to be overcome toward promoting the development of nanofluid-based DASC for SHIP applications are discussed.

Effects of COVID-19 related government response stringency and support policies: Evidence from European firms

In this paper we employ survey information on more than 10,000 Southern and Eastern European firms to assess the effects of the COVID-19 related lockdown and government support policies on the business operations of enterprises. Our findings reveal considerable size- and sector-related heterogeneity, with small firms, and firms such as hotels and restaurants operating in the facilities sector reporting the largest losses in terms of sales when governments increase the strictness of confinement measures. Fixed effects regression estimates suggest that a complete lockdown results in an average year-on-year sales growth that is approximately 63 percentage points lower than it would be without any curtailment measures. The magnitude of the coefficient on year-on-year sales change for a complete lockdown is 14 percentage points higher for small compared to large enterprises. Furthermore, our results suggest that state aid in the form of deferral of payments or wage subsidies are associated with firms’ labor market and financial outcomes in times of crisis. For instance, deferrals of payments are linked to between 0.7 and 1.5 fewer layoffs per firm in the surveyed enterprises compared to other types of support.

An optimization-based approach for managing downstream logistic operations: A real application in pandemic outbreak conditions

One of the most destructive effects of pandemics and epidemics outbreak is the severe deficiency of basic goods needed by society, especially in underdeveloped and developing countries. Therefore, designing an efficient managerial model for making operative modifications in logistics networks beside the governmental financial support policies is considered as one of the most important managerial challenges in the critical situation of the prevalence of infectious diseases that is not investigated in the literature. In this paper, an optimization-based approach is developed to design the supply, production, and distribution channels of basic goods using the capacity of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) under direct supervision of the government in order to increase both the agility and resilience of logistics networks. Since the NP-hardess of the discussed problem, an iterative two-step heuristic based on local search (ITbLS) is developed to solve the proposed problem. According to the numerical results, it can be observed that the proposed algorithm has a good performance to obtain near-optimal solutions for the case study. Moreover, the numerical analyses indicate that the percentage of the active capacity of suppliers, transportation fleet, SMEs, and distribution centers, is specifically dependent on the amount of demand and the number of the established SMEs. In general, managerial results of the proposed model make supply chains more efficient by exploiting the capacity of SMEs and improve the government finaical resources allocation to the private sector to supply basic goods in critical situations.

The pursuit of net-positive sustainability for industrial decarbonization with hybrid energy systems

Signatories of the Paris Agreement are set to miss their climate targets. The net-zero pledges announced to date across many countries and private industries are insufficient to achieve carbon neutrality, which requires implementation of far-reaching and significantly scaled-up climate-positive actions. All technology options that pertain to deep decarbonization and carbon removal must be part of the mitigation portfolio. Transformative action plans must be established in which every individual/organization around the globe is an actor of changes in relation to net-zero goals. Such plans must involve governmental policy support but also encourage voluntary efforts to boost innovations, investments, initiatives, and behavioral changes. Recognition of these efforts is made quantifiable with the concepts of carbon handprint and net positivity. This paper presents a carbon handprint perspective on characterizing the environmental benefits of hybrid energy systems (HESs)—a widely applicable solution to cleaner production leveraging the capabilities of a portfolio of low-carbon energy sources—that provide heat and electricity to industrial processes. First, the carbon handprint and net positivity concepts and their calculation approach are introduced. The state of the art of HES-enabled industrial cogeneration is then surveyed, and the greenhouse gas emission intensities of different energy sources that power HESs are compared. Next, drawing on a case study about a US chemical facility's voluntary initiative to explore replacing its fossil fuel–based cogeneration infrastructure with a clean energy–generated HES, several technically viable scenarios are evaluated—especially those with small modular nuclear reactors—to illustrate how the positive-thinking handprint approach helps encourage and inform the search for widespread influence pathways in pursuit of net-positive sustainability . Finally, current knowledge gaps in the case study are identified, and opportunities to scale up the proposed handprint-based analysis are outlined with consideration of an expanded role of HESs in fulfilling climate objectives. It is envisioned that like-minded decision makers in the industry sector and beyond will adopt this perspective and act synergistically to enhance their environmental stewardship through voluntary actions and make greater contributions to the planet's climate future. • Environmental benefits of hybrid energy systems are assessed using carbon handprint. • Hybrid energy systems produce cleaner heat and power for industrial processes. • Carbon handprint measures impacts of voluntary climate-positive actions. • Exemplary handprint-based net-positivity analysis is performed on a case study. • Opportunities for nuclear and renewable energy are highlighted in the case study.

Accelerating electric vehicle uptake: Modelling public policy options on prices and infrastructure

• We model policy options to accelerate passenger Battery EV diffusion in Australia. • Meeting recharger deployment targets as fleet grows is crucial to reach 100% uptake. • Subsidising BEV purchase brings forward price-parity tipping point. • Recharger and vehicle rebate policies costing AUD37.4 billion speed up transition. • Emissions reduction is best when policy introduced at earliest possible date. Transitioning to passenger battery electric vehicles (BEV) can mitigate climate change impacts of road transportation. We develop a novel BEV policy model, nesting it within a national-scale macroeconomic system dynamics model ( iSDG-Australia ) to simulate a suite of policy pathways. We model combinations of infrastructure support and subsidies, which bring forward the price-parity tipping point, thus rapidly accelerating BEVs’ share of new car sales. However, ongoing complementary charging infrastructure investment is critical to reach 100% new BEV car sales by 2050 in Australia. Even with a rapid transition, the modelled fleet would not achieve net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 due to vehicle longevity; and suddenly ceasing financial incentives could retard BEV sales by a decade. Based on our assumptions, results suggest emissions reductions are maximised by the fastest transition of the passenger vehicle fleet to BEVs, entailing government policy support from 2020 to 2050, for both adequate infrastructure deployment (AUD17.9b) and vehicle rebates (AUD19.5b), which achieves earlier BEV price-parity with fossil-fuelled vehicles.

Membentuk Kebiasaan Masyarakat Dalam Pengelolaan Lingkungan Melalui Digitalisasi Sampah Di Desa Wonorejo, Tutur, Pasuruan

The existence of waste is a challenge for the people of Wonosari Village. This is due to low public perception and knowledge, limited facilities, and government policy support in the waste management system. Therefore, it is necessary to have a commitment in waste management so that it does not cause environmental problems. Based on Law Number 18 of 2008, waste is the remains of human daily activities and/or natural processes in solid form. In general, waste is divided into three, namely organic/wet waste, inorganic/dry waste, and hazardous waste. The purpose of this Community Service is to improve the skills of students and the community to utilize, maintain and preserve the environment through waste bank management and build networks between students and the community to use waste banks into economic goods that can improve the economy. This service method refers to the Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA) method, which is an approach and method that allows the community to jointly analyze life problems in order to formulate real plans and policies. The results of this service are 86% of the public are aware of sorting waste, and 80% of community skills are improved through training. The potential for program sustainability where the community can sort waste properly in order to facilitate the processing process, it is necessary to mobilize waste cadres in the community to understand waste grouping and make people aware of waste care.

Analysis of Green Financial Policy Utility: A Policy Incentive Financial Mechanism Based on State Space Model Theory Algorithm

In recent years, in the context of “double carbon” and innovation-driven synthesis, the volume of green finance has been growing year by year, and the intensity of environmental regulation has been stabilizing. As green financial technology innovation cannot be separated from the support of financial market and government policies, how to promote green financial technology innovation with green finance and environmental regulation has become a hot issue. How to control the appropriate strength of environmental regulations to promote green financial technology innovation is a matter of continuous exploration by local governments. The research of this paper is about the utility analysis of green finance policy: a policy incentive financial mechanism based on the state space model theory algorithm. Therefore, this paper introduces the theory of green finance based on the state space model algorithm and neural network model algorithm to study China’s green finance policy incentive mechanism, profoundly study the current situation of domestic green finance development, and put forward further strengthen the leading role of the government in green financial innovation. At the same time, suggestions for achieving coordinated regional development were made in terms of giving full play to the role of financial markets in promoting green technology innovation.

MAKING SKILL DEVELOPMENT CENTER AS BASIS FOR SUSTAINABLE ENTREPRENEURS EMPOWERMENT IN FACING CHANGES IN THE WORLD OF WORK

The government develops for citizens to get a job and decent living. Nevertheless, the number of people who are unemployed and poor is still high. To solve those problems, the government establish the Skills Development Center as a basis for sustainable entrepreneur empowerment. This research aims to analyze entrepreneurial empowerment activities at the Skills Development Center, their positive impact, the dominant factor influencing success, and the effort to optimize the success of the Skills Development Center in facing changes in the world of work. This research used a qualitative descriptive method with an inductive approach. Data collection was documentation, interviews, and observation. The informants were 11 people who were determined based on the purposive sampling technique. Data analysis techniques through reduction, display, and conclusion drawing verification. The results showed the stages of awareness, enabling, and empowerment in implementing entrepreneurial empowerment very well. The positive impact is success in increasing agricultural and livestock entrepreneurship. The dominant factors are government policy support, increased cooperation, and adequate human resources. At the same time, the barrier factors are low community participation and lack of budget support. Then, the effort to optimize care coordination, verification, and facilitation of training activities, coordination and cooperation among regional agencies, and increasing cooperation with the industrial world so that the type of entrepreneurship can be varied and competitive.&#x0D; &#x0D;

How education and GDP drive the COVID-19 vaccination campaign

BackgroundSince vaccination is the decisive factor for controlling the COVID-19 pandemic, it is important to understand the process of vaccination success which is not well understood on a global level. The study is the first to judge the now completed "first wave" of the vaccination efforts. The analysis is very relevant for the understanding why and where the vaccination process observed got stuck by the end of 2021.MethodsUsing data from 118 countries globally and weighted least squared and survival analysis, we identify a variety of factors playing crucial roles, including the availability of vaccines, pandemic pressures, economic strength measured by Gross Domestic Product (GDP), educational development, and political regimes.ResultsExamining the speed of vaccinations across countries until the Fall of 2021 when the global process got stuck, we find that initially authoritarian countries are slow in the vaccination process, while education is most relevant for scaling up the campaign, and the economic strength of the economies drives them to higher vaccination rates. In comparison to North and Middle America, European and Asian countries vaccinated initially fast for 5% and 10% vaccination rate thresholds, but became rather slow reaching the 30% vaccination level and above. The findings are robust to various applied estimation methods and model specifications.ConclusionsDemocratic countries are much faster than authoritarian countries in their vaccination campaigns when controlling for other factors. This finding suggests that the quality of government and the political environment play a key role in popular support for government policies and programs. However, despite the early success of their vaccination campaigns, the democratic country group has been confronted with strong concerns of vaccine reluctance among their vast populations, indicating the two most potent variables explaining the speed of the COVID-19 vaccination campaign are education and economic conditions.

Comparative economic analysis of soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr.] cultivation under natural, organic and conventional methods in Karnataka, India

Soybean plays an important role in edible oil economy and it a rich source of proteins (40%), carbohydrates (35%) and edible oil (20%), besides several minerals and vitamins. This study was carried out used both primary and secondary data in North-Eastern Transition Zone of Karnataka during 2020-21 by adoptingmultistage sampling procedure with the total sample size of sixty farmers with the main objective of analysing the economic viability of natural farming via alia organic and conventional farming. The major finding of the study was that conventional farming gave the highest net returns of `15464 and a B:C ratio of 1.84 compared to organic and natural farming. The cost of cultivation of natural farming was `16062 and it was less than conventional farming (13.10%) and organic farming (14.94%). The net return was highest in conventional farming and was higher than organic (12.77%) and natural farming (19.92%). The study suggests policy measures such as research and development activities should be focus more towards sustainable crop variety and technology to improve the yields under natural farming. There is a need of government policy support for certification and setting premium minimum support price for natural products in order to encourage the farmers for natural farming.

Current Situation and Prospects of Hydrogen Energy Utilization under “Dual-Carbon” Situation

Hydrogen energy development of high quality is critical for optimizing energy structure and guaranteeing national energy security. The hydrogen energy business has grown rapidly as a result of the continued support of government policy. The rate of industrial technology independence has been continuously improved, the construction of supporting system has been accelerated, the application fields have been expanded, and the industrial pattern has been optimized. With policy support, government promotion, large-scale action of enterprises and other measures adopted around the world, as well as cost reduction driven by continuous technological progress, hydrogen energy utilization will have broad development potential. Many governments and organizations are working hard to produce hydrogen energy in order to address current energy and environmental issues. As a result of the research into hydrogen production, this article analyzes the status of hydrogen energy use in hydrogen fuel cells, hydrogen energy vehicles, and hydrogen for aerospace, and anticipates the hydrogen energy industry's development prospects.

경영환경이 경영전략을 매개로 경영성과에 미치는 영향에 관한 연구

Corporate survival and growth depend on corporate adaptation and challenges to environmental changes. This is under an open system, all activities of the entity take place in constant interaction with the internal and external environments. Environment changes pose a threat to the survival of companies and provide opportunities for growth. Changes in the internal and external environment surrounding businesses have a profound impact on the establishment of management strategies and the achievement of management performance. The business environment is changing rapidly as the needs of customers increase and various technological innovations are commercialized. To meet these changes, an entity needs to develop an appropriate management strategy. In order to secure competitiveness in a complex market environment, appropriate management strategies and various control systems must be established. In this study, the prior study of management environment, management strategy, and management performance was re viewed and empirical research was carried out. Based on prior research, technological strength, competitive strength, government support policy and financial support were adopted as factors for the business environment. The collected data were analyzed using the default statistics of SPSS 22.0 and the Smart PLS 2.0 (Partial Least Squared) using the structured formula. The results of the study are as follows. First, the management environment (technology strength, competition strength, government support policy, and finance support) had a significant impact on the management strategy. Second, management strategies had a significant impact on management performance. This means that in order for an entity to settle in the market, it is essential to establish a discriminatory management strategy in various business environments. To measure an entity's performance, active use of its management strategy is necessary.