Italian Utilities Research Articles

A multi-criteria model for measuring the sustainability orientation of Italian water utilities

This article investigates the influence of socioeconomic context and stakeholder pressure on water utilities' sustainability performance and disclosure. The Urban Water Cycle Services (UWCS) framework has been adapted to the Italian context and integrated with a social equity variable, which enhances the framework's ability to account for the distinctive characteristics and mission of water utilities in measuring sustainability performance. The sample comprises 17 Italian utilities providing water services that released a sustainability report in 2021. The results show that the socioeconomic context and stakeholder pressure influence how water utilities align with economic, environmental, and social sustainability goals. Listed multi-utility companies are strongly influenced by private shareholders, pushing them towards financial sustainability, while small public water utilities are more sensitive to the needs of their disadvantaged users, especially in low-income contexts. The findings of the study have interesting theoretical, managerial and policy implications.

The digital future of Italian Utilities

The digital future of Italian Utilities

Women on Board and ESG Performance: Insights from the Italian Utilities Sector

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the relationship between gender diversity and environmental, social and governance (ESG) performance in the Italian utilities sector. The study examines whether the presence of women on the board of directors (BoD) is related to ESG dimensions. We analyzed a sample of 482 utility companies for the period 2018-2022 and we developed an econometric model applying unbalanced panel regression data with firm fixed effects and controls per year. Within a multivariate regression model, the authors considered the ESG score provided by Refinitiv Eikon to test the research hypotheses. Findings show that the presence of women on board of directors improves ESG performance when a critical mass of female board members (at least three) is reached. A critical threshold of female directors also positively influences the scoring of environmental and social pillars. From a managerial perspective this study draws attention to BoD composition encouraging utility companies to define internal corporate governance mechanisms thoroughly. The overall findings support managers, policy makers and regulators on how to improve ESG performance through gender diversity on BoD. This paper offers an in-depth examination of the ESG practices of utility firms, and it attempts to bridge the gap in prior literature on the determinants of ESG performance in the Italian utilities sector. This study is the first that investigates the relationship between board gender diversity and ESG performance in such a context exploring how a critical mass of women on BoD affects ESG dimensions.

Sasol lines up renewable energy

Sasol and Air Liquide have signed agreements with Enel Green Power to purchase renewable power for Sasol’s fuel and chemical complex in Secunda, South Africa. Air Liquide operates the site’s air separation units, which the partners call the world’s largest oxygen production site. Enel, an Italian utility, will generate the power from a wind project planned for South Africa’s Eastern Cape. Sasol says that the project should reduce the carbon dioxide associated with the oxygen production 30–40% by 2031.

Work Activity Pattern and Collaboration Network: New Drivers for Workplace Space Planning and Design

Information about the users’ work activity patterns is essential for office space planning and the design of organizations. However, it is not clear yet what factors can be used for predicting work activities, especially at the group level. In this study, we found that work activity patterns of groups are associated with the workgroup's job function and their location in the organizational collaboration networks. Two hypotheses were tested through a survey conducted on a sample of 188 managers from an Italian utility company. The participants were asked about (1) the percentage of time different groups (based on job function and demographic composition) spent doing individual, collaborative, and mobile work; and (2) how network connectivity affected individual versus group work. The results showed that workgroups with different job functions spent different percentages of time on individual, mobile, and teamwork. Communication network connectivity is not significantly correlated with the amount of time spent on individual work, but statistical evidence confirmed that it plays an essential role for the assessment of the amount of work time spent on teamwork, even more than job functions. By investigating the factors affecting collaborations between groups, we advanced the research on work activity in large companies in order to complement existing studies that mostly addressed work activity patterns at the individual level. How information about collaboration networks can be utilized for space planning and flexible work arrangement policy–making is also discussed, in light of the changes that the COVID–19 pandemic has triggered.

Convergence in innovation: the perception of synthesis in articulating a new strategic vision

ABSTRACT The collaborative creation of a new strategic vision is recognised by scholars and practitioners as a key factor for the success of innovation initiatives. However, it is still unclear how people converge towards a new vision, as creative abrasions and tensions can occur when different ideas are brought together to create a shared interpretation. Whereas literature about synthesis has described extensively how this mechanism can be used to integrate different perspectives to generate a novel outcome, there is a lack of research regarding the perception of synthesis within a setting where a sense of agreement and ideological alignment is needed to allow people to pursue innovation. This study investigates how people perceive a collaborative process based on synthesis when converging towards a new strategic vision. It has been developed within the research programme IDeaLs in partnership with Sorgenia, an Italian utility company. As part of an action research project, a collaborative process based on synthesis has been jointly developed and applied to engage 60 employees to let them converge towards an innovative vision. Results enrich previous literature in collaborative visioning, showing how individuals feel different perceptions according to their role in the collaborative process, whether they propose an idea or improve those of others. Enhancing an idea can lead individuals to side with other viewpoints, while evaluating others’ contributions could be detrimental for idea integration. We suggest how leveraging contradictions through criticism can help individuals deepen concepts and develop a meaningful outcome, enriching literature about synthesis in innovation management.

Economic regulation of waste management utilities: Taking stock of the Italian reform

Since 2018, the economic regulation of Italian municipal waste utilities is attributed to an inde-pendent authority, ARERA. This original model is supposed to facilitate the transition towards the circular economy paradigm, that associates demanding public service obligations to recy-cling and valorization of waste, in the context of a vertically-integrated industry with a wide differentiation of conditions and maturity throughout the country. This paper analyzes the ex-perience of the first two years and discusses the outcomes reached. We start from a discussion of the fundamental economic characteristics of the waste management industry and of how the circular economy paradigm has radically changed it, raising rather new regulatory issues. We next analyze the structure of the Italian municipal waste management industry and its trajecto-ries of evolution face to the challenge to achieve the demanding targets imposed by the EU Circular Economy Package. We present then the regulatory approach adopted by ARERA in the first regulatory period (2020-2021) and discuss its advantages and drawbacks, based on the experience made in the early phase of its implementation.

Elections and earnings management: evidence from municipally-owned entities

This paper extends the understanding of the relationship between accounting and the political process beyond the political cost hypothesis, documenting the fact that a positive relationship exists between elections and earnings management in Municipally-Owned Entities (MOEs). While State ownership is normally believed to be negatively related to earnings management, we document that, during an election period, the political links it creates increase political costs to such a level that this relation is inverted. We perform our analysis using a sample of 3557 Italian utility entities including 506 entities for which one single municipality has the absolute majority of shares. The sample spans a 6-year period including, on average, two election dates for each entity. Our empirical results support the existence of a relationship between elections and earnings management of MOEs and they confirm the intuition of Ramanna and Roychowdhury (J Account Res 48: 445–475, 2010) on the existence of a relationship between political connectedness and pre-electoral earnings management. We corroborate our main results using earnings variation frequency distribution analysis to check whether there is a tendency to adjust the published results upwards. Our results illustrate that, during election periods, MOEs are more likely to publish an increase in their income. While recognising the possibility that politicians might also benefit from the pre-electoral MOE earnings management detected, our paper does not attempt to prove their involvement in the EM activity, so the possibility that a “political State-Owned Entities Earnings cycle” exists is an avenue for further research.

Predictive Model Generation for Load Forecasting in District Heating Networks

District heating networks (DHNs) are promising technologies to increase the efficiency and reduce emissions of heat distribution to residential and commercial buildings. The advent of the smart grid paradigm has introduced the usage of heating load forecasting tools in DHNs. They provide estimates of future heating load, improving the planning of heat production and power station maintenance. In this article, we propose a methodology based on the integrated use of regularized regression and clustering for generating predictive models of future heating load in DHNs. The methodology is tested on a real case study based on a dataset provided by AGSM, an Italian utility company that manages a DHN in the city of Verona, Italy. We generate a set of multiple-equation models having different degrees of complexity and show that models generated by the proposed approach outperform those trained by standard methods. Moreover, we provide an interpretation of patterns encoded by these models, and show that they identify real operational states of the network. The approach is completely data driven.

Italian Utilities and Public Control: Evidence of Merger Effects

ABSTRACTIncreasing competition-induced mergers amongst public utilities may favour in Italy a reduction in public control and an increase in fair value accounting. In this context, conducting a multiple case study characterized by an innovative comprehensive approach, it is investigated how the peculiarities of the sector affect integration and the subsequent accounting representation of the post-merger entity. The findings show, firstly, the persistent will of the public shareholders to maintain control and, secondly, shed light on a form of interconnected ‘accounting levelling out’ that seems ill-suited to represent the economic reality of the most significant post-merger companies, despite New Public Management provisions.

Maintenance scheduling optimization for industrial centrifugal pumps

Centrifugal pumps are widely used in industry and their damage can cause time losses and production and service level reduction. Due to varying operating conditions, preventive maintenance is the typical strategy to avoid unexpected failures of pumps, but it may involve unnecessary interventions and costs. The paper aims to develop and apply a Condition-Based Maintenance (CBM) procedure on centrifugal pumps to assist decision-making in scheduling maintenance. Through the monitoring of pump state, it would be possible to plan an optimal scheduling of maintenance actions in terms of time, costs and spare parts procurement. The proposed procedure is based on vibration monitoring. Instrumentation, measurement locations, acquisition parameters and pump operating conditions were defined, according to ISO 10816-7 (2009). The method was previously developed for submersible well pumps and now is applied to horizontal and vertical surface centrifugal pumps. Several vibration tests were carried on centrifugal pumps in the plants of the Italian utility Company: Publiacqua S.p.A. (Italy). Pumps under study were selected with varying size and operation time to provide the vibration trend with pump characteristics and operating time, that is a novelty in literature and in practical application. Contrary to what expected by ISO 10816-7 (2009), the paper shows that vibration is influenced by several parameters (e.g. power, pump orientation and rotational speed), which make the ISO standard approach not quite appropriate for centrifugal pumps. As in the proposed method, monitoring the vibrational trend and its variations with time could ensure a more effective CBM strategy.

Performance Evaluation and Comparison of a Low-Cost, PLL-Based Acquisition System Under Off-Nominal Conditions

In the past years, strong changes of power network architectures and operation have led to make use of huge quantities of instrumentation, spread around the grid. In fact, there is a strong need to perform very accurate measurements of electrical quantities in many nodes of the network, mainly due to the strong penetration of distributed generation. Recently, the main Italian utility has also asked for such kind of instrumentation. Its main feature must be to perform accurate measurements in all actual conditions. Such conditions include the instrumentation operation during the off-nominal condition of the network. To this purpose, in this paper, a low-cost acquisition system (AS) developed by the authors is recalled. Then, a full comparison with off-the-shelf products during ideal or not power source is provided. The obtained results highlight the potentialities of the developed system for its implementation in both laboratory or medium-/low-voltage (MV/LV) networks.

Metformin, other antidiabetic drugs, and endometrial cancer risk: a nested case-control study within Italian healthcare utilization databases.

Metformin may reduce the risk of endometrial cancer whereas other drugs for the treatment of type 2 diabetes mellitus appear to increase it, although the evidence is still limited. We investigated this issue using data from a nested case-control study within the healthcare utilization databases of the Lombardy Region, Italy. This study included 376 diabetic women with endometrial cancer and 7485 diabetic controls matched for cases on age, date at cohort entry, and duration of follow-up. We used conditional logistic regression models to estimate the odds ratio (OR) of endometrial cancer in relation to use of antidiabetic drugs, adjusted for the Charlson's comorbidity index, selected medical conditions, prescription of selected drugs, and concomitant use of other antidiabetic drugs. At cohort entry, no significant associations were observed for metformin [OR=0.99, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.80-1.23], sulfonylureas (OR=1.14, 95% CI 0.91-1.42), insulin (OR=0.72, 95% CI 0.34-1.56), and other antidiabetic drugs (OR=1.21, 95% CI 0.75-1.95). When we considered use during follow-up, a borderline significant excess risk was found for metformin (OR=1.30, 95% CI 1.00-1.70). However, this estimate decreased to 1.07 (95% CI 0.82-1.41) when taking into account BMI using a Monte Carlo sensitivity analysis. No significant associations were found for sulfonylureas (OR=1.16, 95% CI 0.91-1.47), thiazolidinediones (OR=0.77, 95% CI 0.48-1.24), repaglinide (OR=1.32, 95% CI 0.94-1.87), incretins (OR=1.21, 95% CI 0.63-2.32), and insulin (OR=1.19, 95% CI 0.82-1.71). Our data indicate that metformin, insulin, and other antidiabetic drugs did not meaningfully affect the risk of endometrial cancer.

Incidence, Predictors, and Clinical Implications of Discontinuing Therapy with Inhaled Long-Acting Bronchodilators among Patients with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease

abstractIncidence, predictors and effect of discontinuation of long-acting bronchodilators on the risk of death or hospital admission among adults with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) were assessed in a large population-based prospective study carried out by linking Italian healthcare utilization databases. Specifically, the cohort of 17,490 beneficiaries of the National Health Service in the Italian Region of Lombardy, aged 40 years or older, who started long-acting bronchodilators therapy during 2005–2008 was followed from first dispensation until 2012. During this period, patients who experienced discontinuation of long-acting bronchodilators were identified. Hospitalizations for COPD and deaths for any cause (composite clinical outcome) were also identified during follow-up. A Cox proportional hazards model was fitted to identify predictors of discontinuation. The case-crossover design was used to assess the implications of treatment discontinuation on the clinical outcome risk. Cumulative incidences of discontinuation were, respectively, 67%, 80%, and 92% at 6 months, 1 year, and 5 years since initial treatment. Significant predictors of discontinuation were female gender, younger age, starting treatment with fixed-dose combination of inhaled bronchodilators and corticosteroids, using antibiotics, inhaled long-acting bronchodilators and corticosteroids and not using short-acting bronchodilators, other respiratory drugs and systemic corticosteroids during follow-up. Odds ratios (95% confidence intervals) for the clinical outcome associated with not discontinuing long-acting bronchodilators was 0.64 (0.50 to 0.82). In conclusion, in the real-life setting, discontinuation of inhaled long-acting bronchodilators in adults with COPD is high even after just 6 months, even though persistence to these drugs reduces the risk of severe outcomes.

Barriers and drivers in the adoption of advanced wastewater treatment technologies: a comparative analysis of Italian utilities

The adoption of new environmentally-friendly technologies is becoming a key issue in both public debate and policy arenas. The paper focuses on innovation adoption by wastewater utilities, and investigates why stringent environmental regulations are not sufficient to foster it. The adoption of advanced wastewater treatment technologies is made complex by the sunk nature of highly specific infrastructures, and the consequent exposure of utilities to political and institutional influences. In addition, it requires the involvement of various actors (utilities, suppliers, contractors), and is influenced by various stakeholders (communities, business users, citizens' associations) that generally have no aligned objectives.With reference to the aforementioned theoretical background, our paper develops and analyzes a conceptual framework that unfolds over two dimensions: (a) the role played by firm-specific characteristics, i.e. technological and organizational capabilities and managerial professionalism; (b) the influence of community-level factors, i.e. citizens' voice and pressure exerted by local stakeholders.We investigate these issues through multiple descriptive case studies based on semi-structured interviews with the CEOs and top managers of 11 wastewater utilities operating in a region in North-Italy. The results suggest that firm-specific resources could spur wastewater utilities into adopting innovation, despite an adverse institutional environment. At the same time, on the community-level side, the analysis shows that residents and local businesses are able to mobilize resources and exert pressure to either drive or hinder the adoption of water innovations.

Local promotion of electric mobility in cities: Guidelines and real application case in Italy

In the contest of European and National choices regarding energy and mobility policies, the goal of this paper is to introduce reasonable guidelines for the local promotion of electric mobility in an area of central Italy and possibly to extend the methodology to other regions/countries. In fact, the path towards car electrification is started worldwide, but the rate of increase of electrically powered cars will depend primarily on charging stations availability. In this respect, utilities that manage/own local grids may be key actors by investing on infrastructures and thus locally creating the conditions for the spreading of electric cars. A techno-economic analysis of the investment of a local utility has been performed taking into account medium- and long term-forecasts of electricity and fuel prices, as well as electric cars market share and economic risk. The study proved that an investment in urban charging station infrastructure in Italy can be profitable even without incentives, with a payback period of 4–5 years. The results of the analysis have been exploited by an Italian utility which owns/manages the local electric grid in two municipalities. The first steps of the plan implementation, which started in 2014, are reported in the paper.

The Internationalization of Network Industries: A Comparative Policy Analysis of Italian Railways and Utilities

Internationalization constitutes a dominant strategy for former public enterprises, as they enter emerging markets in other countries. This article provides a firm-level analysis of the drivers of (and obstacles to) internationalization. It focuses primarily on the experience of Italian companies in the railway and utility sectors by comparing and contrasting them with major European companies as well as among themselves. The article shows the diverse degrees of internationalization of Italian companies and takes into account possible explanations, showing how the policy and regulatory environment do interact with the configurations of actors’ preferences in shaping companies’ strategies.

Factors Affecting Water Utility Companies’ Decision to Promote the Reduction of Household Water Consumption

The present paper investigates the factors affecting water utility companies’ decision to implement public information campaigns aimed at promoting sustainable water use and reducing household water consumption. We have analyzed 114 Italian water utility companies. For each we hand-collected data regarding their suggestions for reducing household water consumption and sustainable reporting information, published on the corporate websites. We then classified each utility on the basis of their ownership, diversification, location, sales, population served, tariff and annual rainfall. Using M-quantile regression for count data we have constructed a performance measure of Italian water utility companies and have ranked them by the identification of a unique M-quantile coefficient associated with each datum observed. The paper provides some interesting insights into the type of companies most sensitive to water sustainability issues, providing potential guidance to policy makers in defining a water management framework and selecting firms to manage water services. Larger firms located in the center of Italy, in drought regions and the driest areas, seem to be more sensitive to promoting the reduction of household water consumption. Moreover, companies operating only in the water business that are publicly owned and apply lower tariffs embody the type of institutions that make greater use of web information campaigns to reduce consumption.

Introduction: 2013 Daniel H. Wagner Prize for Excellence in Operations Research Practice

Competition for the 2013 Daniel H. Wagner Prize for Excellence in Operations Research Practice provided the six finalist papers featured in this special issue of Interfaces. The prestigious Wagner Prize—awarded for achievement in implemented operations research and advanced analytics—emphasizes quality and originality of mathematical models and clarity of written and oral exposition. Researchers from MIT, Technion—its Israeli counterpart—and the client organization won the competition for the design and successful implementation of a novel two-phase distribution algorithm, which greatly reduces the cost of delivering print magazines for Yedioth Group, the largest media company in Israel. The impressive hospital emergency department work of the team from Georgia Tech and the Grady Health System garnered a unique second-place-winner award. The remaining finalist papers describe work in optimization of the desk customer services staff for an Italian utility company, logistics optimization for an automotive parts manufacturer, efficient management of pressure in a water distribution network, and improved scheduling for the German Basketball League.

Oral bisphosphonates do not increase the risk of severe upper gastrointestinal complications: a nested case–control study

BackgroundData on the effect of oral bisphosphonates (BPs) on risk of upper gastrointestinal complications (UGIC) are conflicting. We conducted a large population-based study from a network of Italian healthcare utilization databases aimed to assess the UGIC risk associated with use of BPs in the setting of secondary prevention of osteoporotic fractures.MethodsA nested case–control study was carried out within a cohort of 68,970 patients aged 45 years or older, who have been hospitalized for osteoporotic fracture from 2003 until 2005. Cases were the 804 patients who experienced hospitalization for UGIC until 2007. Up to 20 controls were randomly selected for each case. Conditional logistic regression model was used to estimate odds ratio (OR) associated with current and past use of BPs (i.e. for drug dispensation within 30 days and over 31 days prior the outcome onset, respectively) after adjusting for several covariates.ResultsCompared with patients who did not use BPs, current and past users had OR (and 95% confidence interval) of 0.86 (0.60 to 1.22) and 1.07 (0.80 to 1.44) respectively. There was no difference in the ORs estimated according with BPs type (alendronate or risedronate) and regimen (daily or weekly), nor with co-therapies and comorbidities.ConclusionsFurther evidence that BPs dispensed for secondary prevention of osteoporotic fractures are not associated with increased risk of severe gastrointestinal complications is supplied from this study. Further research is required to clarify the role BPs and other drugs of co-medication in inducing UGIC.