Industry Association Research Articles

Drivers and barriers of implementing a dual VET programme in Nepal

PurposeThe authors analyse drivers and barriers of implementing and scaling-up a pilot project of a dual vocational and education programme in Nepal.Design/methodology/approachThe 5C protocol distinguishes five categories of drivers and barriers of education reforms: commitment, capacity, clients, content and context. The authors build on the 5C protocol to develop a qualitative empirical framework based on semi-structured interviews amongst stakeholders.FindingsThe results show that involved actors are committed. Capacity in terms of available resources also represents an implementation driver, but companies lack information about the programme. Consequently, industry associations should receive a more prominent role in the motivation of companies to provide training places. The content category is the most challenging implementation barrier because the programme represents a substantial change, compared to the current vocational education and training (VET) programmes in Nepal.Originality/valueFirst, the authors propose a framework for a qualitative content analysis to analyse the drivers and barriers of implementing and scaling-up education reforms. Second, the authors provide novel information about drivers and barriers of an education reform in Nepal.

Factors Affecting the Implementation of Corporate Social Responsibility in the Health Technology Industry in Greece.

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is an evolving business strategy worldwide, focusing on the sustainability of the enterprise and the provision of multiple benefits to the societies and economies. The aim of this paper was to explore the encouraging and deterrent factors for the implementation of CSR actions in companies specializing in pharmaceutical andbiomedical products as well as in medical equipment in Greece. A cross-sectional study was conducted (April to June 2021) in member-companies of the Hellenic Association of Pharmaceutical Companies, the Panhellenic Association of Pharmaceutical Industry and the Association of Health-Research and Biotechnology Industry. Data collection was carried out via an anonymous, self-administered questionnaire. Descriptive and inferential statistical analyses were performed, using SPSS version 25 (IBM Corp., Armonk, NY, USA). The significance level was set at p≤0.05. One hundred twelve questionnaires were distributed, out of which 87 were returned (response rate 77.7%). 81.1% of companies included CSR in their annual strategy, while only 32.4% of them follow the Global Reporting Initiative standards. The majority (62.2%) disposes ≤€100.000 from their annual turnover for CSR actions. The contribution to society and the ethical commitment of the enterprise are stated as the main encouraging factors for CSR, while bureaucracy and the lack of incentives as deterrents. Pharmaceutical companies reported social acceptance as the major CSR enabler compared to other companies (p=0.034), while companies specializing only in medical equipment/biotechnology mentioned industry competition (p=0.003). Bureaucracy has been revealed as the major disincentive for all participating companies. Corporate advertising is found as an important encouraging factor for the adoption of CSR for the international companies compared to the national ones (p=0.023). Moreover, 97.3% stated that the government should reward socially responsible companies by increasing financial incentives. Conclusion: The health technology industry in Greece implements CSR actions. The company's contribution to society and its ethical commitment are important encouraging factors for CSR, while bureaucracy and lack of government incentives are the main deterrents. The reward of socially sensitive companies by the government would provide significant entrepreneurial and societal benefits, supporting the overall Greek economy.

Defining textile technology as a scientific discipline: a historical perspective

The launch of the Transactions in 1923, exclusively for the publication of original scientific work, consolidated the standing of the Journal of the Textile Institute as a scholarly periodical, although the timing was fortuitous, reflecting the needs of the industrial research associations, then newly established in the UK following the ‘neglect of science’ controversy in 1916. The burgeoning output of papers from this source in turn acted as a major competitive stimulus for the transformation of textile technology in higher education from craft-based empiricism to scientific discipline, albeit incrementally. In the background was the apparent dichotomy between the industrial practitioner and the academic scientist. Higher education sought to bridge this gap while simultaneously adopting the ethos and practices of the applied science model for textile technology, thereby creating tensions internally which took many years to resolve. The paper reviews the emergence of textile technology as a scientific discipline during the inter-war years and acknowledges the defining role of the Transactions.

How to drive strategic green innovation behavior? A qualitative comparative analysis (QCA) based on Chinese manufacturing enterprises.

Green innovation is an important way for manufacturing enterprises to achieve green and high-quality development. The existing literature has ignored the heterogeneous motivations for enterprise green innovation. The strategic green innovation behavior (SGIB) aiming at seeking strategic differences and building core competitiveness is the necessary measure for enterprises to realize green transformation. Furthermore, the existing research studies the influencing factors of green innovation from a single perspective, ignoring the interaction of institutional and resource factors. Based on this, this study uses QCA to identify the driving mechanism of enterprise SGIB. The research collected questionnaire data from 199 manufacturing enterprises in China. The main results show that a single factor will not constitute a necessary condition for positive SGIB, but the not-high green dynamic capability is a necessary condition for negative SGIB. Positive SGIB includes four configuration paths: institution-ethics synergy, normative pressure oriented, environmental ethics oriented, and institutional incentive oriented. Lack of institutional pressure is the only configuration path that leads to negative SGIB. Further analysis found that environmental ethics and institutional pressure are the main forces to promote SGIB. After a series of robustness tests, the above basic conclusions did not change significantly. Based on the above conclusions, we believe that government departments, industry associations, and enterprises should form a joint force to enhance the level of institutional pressure and enterprise environmental ethics, promoting the implementation of strategic green innovation.

The effects of business associations in the export–survival relationship: An application to the DOC Rioja wine industry

AbstractMuch has been said about the role that business associations play in the survival of firms, but little is known about how this influences the relationship between exports and the survival of firms. Considering the diverging theoretical assumptions about the importance of business associations, we hypothesize in this paper on the direct effect of association membership on the survival of firms, and its moderating effect on the export–survival relationship. For Qualified Designation of Origin (DOC) Rioja wineries, we show that both exporting and association membership have a positive effect on the survival of firms, although association membership reduces the positive effect of exports to survive. These results hold up under alternative survival model specifications. The study explores the complex role of associations in the wine industry, which is important to understand in the context of the current COVID‐19 crisis. [EconLit Citations: L25, L66, M16, M21].

Effects on the Business in the Conditions of Superior Crises

Abstract In recent years, financial and economic crises have been observed, which are a consequence of various global problems and phenomena. Despite the experience of 2008, it seems that the enterprises did not learn enough of their lessons and failed to foresee the difficulties for their business and finances. There are not many examples in history that have seen phenomena of superimposing economic and financial crises. In this case, the situation is caused by the pandemic caused by CoviD-19 and the war in Ukraine. The two events have had serious nongarnishing shocks to businesses and enterprise economies. The purpose of the current research is to trace the effects on business in the conditions of overlapping economic crises – in this case, caused by the covid pandemic and the war in Ukraine. The object of research will be the non-financial enterprises in Bulgaria, and the subject is the analysis of the effects on business as a result of overlapping crises. The aim is to derive and justify the effects and consequences for business in Bulgaria. The aim concerns the claim that the overlapping crises have a negative impact on the finances and economy of the enterprises in Bulgaria. The research was conducted on the basis of a survey among Bulgarian companies from the non-financial sector. The survey is conducted annually at the end of the year, summarizing in December of each year. About 800 companies - members of the Bulgarian Industrial Association take part in it. Their profile is mainly small and medium-sized enterprises, most of them being small.

한일 경제협력의 변화 과정과 향후 방향

Purpose: The purposes of this study are to identify the process of change in Korea-Japan economic cooperation through cooperation projects carried out by Korea-Japan Cooperation Foundation for Industry and Technology (KJCF) over the past 30 years, and to explore the future direction of Korea-Japan economic cooperation.
 Research design, data, and methodology: This study analyzed the Korea-Japan cooperation projects that KJCF has implemented for 30 years from 1993 to 2022. It classified 819 annual projects of KJCF into three areas based on large classification, 14 project groups based on medium classification, and 187 individual projects based on sub-classification. The three areas of the large classification were Technology Cooperation, Infrastructure-forming Human Exchange, and Trade & Investment Cooperation and Others. This study divided 30 years into three stages: the first stage from 1993 to 2002, the second stage from 2003 to 2012, and the third stage from 2013 to 2022. Then, changes in the economic environment were examined in terms of trade, direct investment, human exchange, and manufacturing competitiveness.
 Results: As a result of the analysis, it was found that the gap in manufacturing competitiveness between Korea and Japan began to be large, but gradually narrowed in the first and second stages, almost closing the gap in the third stage. Under these environmental changes, KJCF has implemented projects suitable for each stage, and the characteristics of the cooperative projects were defined as General-purpose Technology Adoption Type in the first stage, Application Technology Adoption Type in the second stage, and Adopted Technology Utilization Type in the third stage. In the first stage, there was a big difference in manufacturing competitiveness between Korea and Japan, so KJCF promoted projects that helped Korean companies adopt general-purpose technologies from Japan. Then, in the second stage, projects that helped Korean firms adopt application technology from Japan were executed, and in the third stage, projects where Korean companies could utilize the adopted technology were implemented with the manufacturing competitiveness gap almost disappeared. Furthermore, this changing pattern in KJCF projects was also confirmed in the medium classification analysis.
 Implications: This study looked at the process of changing economic cooperation between Korea and Japan through KJCF projects implemented in response to given environment for each period. As a result, it can be said that those projects have contributed to improving the competitiveness of Korean companies. In fact, the competitiveness gap between Korea and Japan has been almost disappeared in the third stage, and this has important implications for the future direction of Korea-Japan economic cooperation. Accordingly, as to the future direction of economic cooperation between Korea and Japan, this study emphasized the need for reciprocal win-win type cooperation and further presented three points from the perspective of government policy and corporate strategy. First, policy support and corporate efforts are needed to revitalize Korea-Japan economic cooperation in new business areas such as IT, software, new energy, etc. Second, the governments need to help industry associations in two countries form foundation for business cooperation and companies need to cooperate each other under the assistance of those associations. Third, it was suggested that the governments need to provide communication infrastructure for Korean and Japanese companies to explore global markets through cooperation and that companies need to implement cooperative strategy for expansion to global markets.

What Did We Achieve Through VALITEST, an EU Project on Validation in Plant Pest Diagnostics?

Ensuring the reliability of diagnostic activities is an essential cornerstone of plant health strategies to reduce the risk of entry and spread of plant pests in a region and ultimately their impacts. Diagnostic tests should be validated to ensure that they are fit for purpose. Validation is usually done by diagnostic laboratories, although companies commercializing diagnostic kits also produce validation data for their products. Due to the high number of pest, matrix, and method combinations and given the significant resources required to validate tests, it is essential that validation data are shared with the entire diagnostic community and produced in a harmonized way to facilitate their use by different stakeholders. Indeed, the selection of tests to be used in specific contexts is not the sole responsibility of diagnostic laboratories but also involves national plant protection organizations. The VALITEST EU project (2018 to 2021) was established to tackle all these issues. New validation data for tests targeting important pests for the European and Mediterranean Plant Protection Organization region were produced. Guidelines to improve and harmonize the validation framework were developed. Sharing of validation data and experience was ensured through the development of new or existing databases, the organization of training courses, and the dissemination of the project outputs in scientific publications and standards. Finally, the involvement of researchers, diagnosticians, policy makers, inspectors, and industries and the establishment of the European Plant Diagnostic Industry Association were important actions to strengthen the interactions between plant health stakeholders. [Formula: see text] Copyright © 2023 The Author(s). This is an open access article distributed under the CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 International license .

German chemicals in slump

Chemical production in Germany fell by 0.9% in the first 3 months of the year from the previous 3 months, and corresponding sales were down 6.7%, to $63.3 billion, according to a report by the German Chemical Industry Association (VCI), Germany’s largest chemical industry association. German chemical production is on course to fall by 5% for the year as a whole, the organization forecasts. New business is restrained, and demand for chemical products remains down. The weak industrial economy in Europe and worldwide has resulted in a reluctance by some chemical customers to order products, VCI says. High energy costs remain the sector’s biggest problem. “Even if the energy and raw material bills for many chemical and pharmaceutical companies in the first quarter were lower than three months earlier, the cost is still twice as much as in previous years,” VCI president Markus Steilemann says in the report .

Human Resource Management Practices as Determinants of Organizational Performance

Human capital being unique and inimitable is a source of competitive advantage for organizations. Literature suggests that effective and well-established human resource management (HRM) practices help in better retention and utilization of human resources, thereby resulting in the improvement of the organizational performance overall. Most studies have examined the linkage between HRM practices and organizational performance in large organizations. Not much research is available on the effect of HR practices on the performance of small and medium enterprises (SMEs). Coimbatore is an entrepreneurial hub, its industrial ecosystem dominated by SMEs, therefore, there is a need to explore the HR practices in the SMEs of Coimbatore. This study evaluates the relationship among HR practices and organizational performance of SMEs in Coimbatore. Data was collected from 200 SMEs that were members of the Coimbatore District Small Scale Industries Association (CODISSIA). It was found that HRM practices had a significant positive effect on organizational performance.

Which industrial path contributed to CO2 transfer and emissions slowing-down of China and the United States most in international trade?

Carbon transfer in international trade has triggered disputes on environmental equity between developed and developing countries. Hence, it is urgent to make it clear the carbon transfer process of international trade between China and the United States, explore the adjustment plan of emission reduction responsibility and formulate targeted emission reduction measures. These will play an important leading and demonstration effect in addressing global warming and coordinating international carbon reduction. This study built a CO2 international trade transfer network model of China and the United States. Based on identifying the carbon transfer path flowing from primary product sector to final production sector, and then to final consumption, we analyzed the industrial association relationship and distribution differences between China and the United States with external countries and regions. Lastly, we put forward emission reduction policy implication in industrial scale. The key paths of China and the United States are concentrated in the two export and import transfer types respectively. Among the key paths of China's bilateral primary production export type, paths from domestic Electricity, Gas and Water to foreign Construction accounted for the largest 40% share. As for the United States, transfer type of bilateral final production import is the most prominent, and path number and flow from foreign Transport to domestic Public Administration both accounted for more than 30%. Based on shared responsibility to adjust the emission reduction tasks under the Paris Agreement, China and the US will allow to emit 10% more and reduce 6% more, reaching 54% and 25% respectively. Taking into full consideration the national economic development level and the differences in the production technology level of industrial sectors, as well as the upstream and downstream related sectors' relationship, the refined emission reduction strategy is proposed from different aspects, such as technical assistance, financial support, import control, technology sharing and consumption transformation.

Classification of Explicit Songs Based on Lyrics Using Random Forest Algorithm

This study focuses on the potential negative impact of explicit songs on children and adolescents. Although an explicit song labeling program is currently in place, its coverage is limited to songs released by artists affiliated with the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). Consequently, songs falling outside the program's scope remain inadequately labeled. To address this issue, a machine learning model was developed to effectively classify explicit songs and mitigate mislabeling challenges. A comprehensive dataset of song lyrics was collected using web scraping techniques for the purpose of constructing the classification model. The model was trained using the TF-IDF vectorization method and the random forest algorithm. A meticulous comparison of distribution parameters was conducted between the training and testing data sets to determine the optimal model. This superior model achieved a training-testing data distribution ratio of 90:10, with an impressive accuracy of 96.3%, precision of 99.3%, recall of 93.5%, and an f1-score of 96.3%. The classification results revealed that explicit songs accounted for 39.22% of the dataset, and the visual representation highlighted the fluctuating prevalence of explicit songs over time. Additionally, the hip-hop/rap genre exhibited the highest proportion of explicit songs, reaching a staggering 92%.

An Industry Survey on Unmet Needs in South Korea's New Drug Listing System.

Since introducing the positive listing system in 2007, the South Korean government has undergone multiple changes in its drug listing system. As there is a lack of studies that evaluate the system from an industry perspective, this paper examined South Korea's new drug listing system from the suppliers' perspective. We surveyed members of the three main pharmaceutical industry associations online. The survey (a 5-point Likert scale) covered their satisfactory levels, demands, and updates on the current new drug listing system, especially pharmacoeconomic evaluation, pharmacoeconomic evaluation exemption, and risk-sharing agreement. A total of 56 respondents participated in the survey. The self-reported satisfaction level for value recognition of new drugs was 1.6 (± 0.7) points (5 points = very satisfied). The most highly demanded reforms for PE, RSA, and PEE were incremental cost-effectiveness ratio threshold (92.9%), reimbursement scope expansion (91.1%), and eligible disease (83.9%). Lastly, they also claimed that the indication-based pricing system must be introduced (83.9%). Pricing and reimbursement policies need to improve in such a way that would enable better access to new drugs while still facilitating their development. Given the nature of the current system, some innovative rare disease treatments and anticancer drugs remain unreimbursed, resulting in low satisfaction levels across the pharmaceutical industry. Hence, pathways to speed up the reimbursement assessment process and expand the range of reimbursable diseases are required. Pharmaceutical companies are also important stakeholders, like in the case of clinicians and patients, and their opinions should also be considered in the process of pricing and reimbursement policy reforms.

Government Policy for the Fusion Energy Economy- Lessons from the Fusion Industry Association’s First Two Years

Government Policy for the Fusion Energy Economy- Lessons from the Fusion Industry Association’s First Two Years

A human factors perspective on safety culture

BACKGROUND: In the last decades a revolution for safety industries is widely recognizable. Regulatory bodies have tried to investigate more and more how the industry can get better and learn from hazardous events. Moreover, industrial associations have increased the amount of provided best practices, and started to train and certify new standards of process safety. However, experts indicate that one of the most important elements in safety performance is the role of people. The recent findings of accident investigations demonstrate a growing recognition that the cultural context and human performance may influence safety and therefore, a focus on safety culture is inevitable in contemporary enterprises. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this paper is to establish the relationship between human factors and safety culture in industrial environment. METHODS: In the research study we adopted multiple methods that consisted of the completion of a safety culture assessment survey in an industrial sector (243 responses) and research interviews (5 in total) within industrial authorities. RESULTS: The results of the research clearly show a crucial role of human factors in safety culture. It was investigated in relation to safety training, safety awareness, hazard identification and risk, responding to incidents, and communication and safety. CONCLUSIONS: Summing up, it can be concluded that the behaviours and awareness of humans and a positive safety culture influence directly safety good practices, hazard control, incident reporting and finally number and scope of accidents at work.

How to succeed in the market? Predicting startup success using a machine learning approach

Predicting startup success is a critical task for startup entrepreneurs and investors. Previous studies focused only on the internal conditions of startups and did not extensively consider the effects of industry characteristics on startup success. To fill this research gap, this study proposes a model for predicting startup success, which considers the external environment and internal conditions. A machine learning model for predicting the success of a firm was developed, incorporating industry characteristics. Data were collected from 218,207 companies in Crunchbase from January 2011 to July 2021. After data preprocessing, six machine learning models were used to predict startup success and identify features significant for the prediction. Feature importance was also calculated to determine how each feature affects startup success prediction. The results indicate that media exposure, monetary funding, industry convergence level, and industry association level are significant for determining startup success.

Influencer regulations, governance and sociocultural issues in Asia

Influencer regulations, governance and sociocultural issues in Asia

Potential use of weather derivatives in hedging aggregate viticulture yields: An analysis of the Niagara region of Canada

AbstractAlthough potentially useful for financially hedging systemic weather-related risks, weather contracts/derivatives (also referred to as parametric insurance) have not seen wide adoption in agriculture outside of applications in developing countries, frequently supported by governments and non-governmental organizations (NGOs). A significant impediment is the lack of financial firms willing to stand ready to sell weather derivatives to individual agricultural producers in the over-the-counter market who, due to the localized nature of weather, face idiosyncratic weather-related risks. In particular, the administrative and reinsurance costs of supplying relatively small contracts with specific terms to many different producers are often prohibitive. The current study considers the potential use of weather derivatives in hedging the aggregate yield/revenues of viticulture producers represented by an industry association located in the province of Ontario, Canada. We examine the sensitivity of aggregate industry yields to several relevant weather-related risks employing copula function analysis. We then consider the potential of a weather derivative in hedging the financial risk associated with cold winter temperatures, which pose the greatest risk to aggregate vinifera yields. The issue of attributing costs and payouts to individual association members remains unresolved, and several alternatives are suggested.

Nationwide survey on the current situation of quality control of diagnostic displays in Japan

The Japan Association of Radiological Technologists (JART) and the Japan Medical Imaging and Radiological Systems Industries Association jointly conducted a nationwide survey to reveal the current situation of diagnostic displays in Japan using a questionnaire on the performance and quality control (QC) of diagnostic displays for mammography and common use. The questionnaire for radiological technologists (RTs) was distributed via email to 4519 medical facilities throughout Japan, where RTs affiliated with JART were employed; 613 (13.6%) facilities responded. Diagnostic displays with suitable maximal luminance (500cd/m2 or higher for mammography and 350cd/m2 or higher for common use) and resolution (5 megapixels for mammography) have been widely used. However, while 99% of the facilities recognized the necessity of QC, only approximately 60% implemented it. This situation arose due to several barriers to QC implementation, such as insufficient devices, time, staff, knowledge, and the recognition of QC as a duty. The implementation of QC can lead to the avoidance of incidents or accidents caused by a decrease in luminance, variation in luminance response, and the influence of ambient light. Moreover, the barriers discouraging the implementation of QC are mainly related to a lack of human resources and budgets. Therefore, to popularize the QC of diagnostic displays in all facilities, it is crucial to identify countermeasures to eliminate these barriers and to continue positive actions for popularization.

Digitalisation promotes adoption of soft information in SME credit evaluation: the case of Indian banks.

Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) account for half of the employment in developing economies and are a significant part of their economic growth. In spite of this, SMEs are under-financed by banks, which have been disrupted by financial technology (fintech) firms. This qualitative multi-case study examines how Indian banks are utilising digitalisation, soft information, and Big data to improve SME financing. The participants shared their insights on the way banks adopt digital tools, sources of soft information (e.g., customer and supplier relationships, business plans), and factors that influence the implementation of Big data in the SME credit evaluation process. The major themes include: banks are improving SME financing operations through digitalisation, and IT tools can verify SME soft information. Soft information attributes that emerge from addressing SME information opacity include supplier relationships, customer relationships, business plans, and managerial successions. For SME credit managers, developing partnerships to access publicly available soft information created by industry associations and "online B2B trade platforms" is a high-priority recommendation. To enhance the efficiency of SME financing, banks should obtain the consent of SMEs before they access their private hard information through trade platforms.