Market Drivers Research Articles

Trends and drivers of the aesthetic market during a turbulent economy.

Aesthetic procedures are significant sources of revenue for plastic surgeons. With the popularity of nonsurgical aesthetic procedures, many plastic surgeons question how to best tailor their aesthetic practice. Revenue generated from surgical and minimally invasive aesthetic procedures performed in the United States between 2000 and 2011 was calculated from the American Society of Plastic Surgeons' annual reports. Regression analysis was performed against six commonly cited economic indicators. In 2011, revenue from minimally invasive procedures increased from $3.0 billion to $5.7 billion (90 percent growth), whereas revenue from surgical procedures decreased from $6.6 billion to $6.0 billion (10 percent decline). Between 2000 and 2011, minimally invasive procedure market share grew from 30 percent to nearly 50 percent. Linear regression analysis revealed significant correlations between surgical procedure revenue and indicators of macroeconomic climate: Dow Jones Industrial Average (R = 0.72; p < 0.01), Standard & Poor's 500 Index (R = 0.64, p < 0.05), and unemployment rate (R = -0.81; p < 0.001). Minimally invasive procedure revenue was significantly correlated with indicators related to microeconomic decision trends: disposable income per capita (R = 0.93; p < 0.001), real gross domestic product per capita (R = 0.88; p < 0.001), and home price index (R = 0.63; p < 0.05). No economic indicator in this study was found to be significantly correlated with both surgical and minimally invasive revenue. Despite economic turbulence, minimally invasive procedures are the most rapidly growing source of revenue and are poised to be the dominant source of revenue in the aesthetic market.

Voluntary corporate governance with an empirical application

The main idea of the article is to advance some arguments regarding a paradox of corporate governance: if it creates so much value for shareholders why in most countries governance is still heavily regulated by strict codes? The article advances a theoretical framework for the voluntary adoption of better corporate governance practices as influenced by four dimensions: ownership and control issues, capital structure, exit strategies and market performance. I estimate probit panel models with data from Brazilian companies that voluntarily moved to the Novo Mercado (New Market). Results indicate as significant variables representing the need for exit strategies through liquidity and the existence of shareholders’ agreements, while higher capital concentration implies a lower probability of companies voluntarily adopting better governance practices. Also, market drivers such as lower capital costs and performance are not statistically significant.

The Geneva Association framework for climate change actions of insurers: a case study of Nordic insurers

Abstract Climate change is a major strategic issue for insurers, both as a risk and an opportunity. The Geneva Association 1 has therefore urged insurers to move forward in integrating climate-related decisions and actions into day-to-day business, and a framework has been developed to assess insurers' climate change actions. This paper explores the Geneva Association framework for climate change actions in the context of Nordic non-life insurers. This is a four-level framework, ranging from inaction to integration. When the framework was introduced in 2009, the impression was that the insurance industry was reactive in its approach to integrating climate change into the core business. The framework was utilized at the Nordic Insurance Climate Conference in 2009, supporting the Geneva Association notion about the situation. The findings of this case study suggest a difference between two case groups: the Island companies (SMEs), including insurance companies operating in Aland, Faroe Islands and Iceland, and Mainland companies operating in Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden. The Island companies are to a large extent inactive, while the Mainland companies are moving forward becoming developed in their approach to dealing with climate-related issues. Company size and outside drivers, including market and social drivers, are two of the factors that account for the difference between the case groups.

Locating medium volume and complexity manufacturing: cases from the ski industry

Purpose – The paper aims to examine the location of manufacturing for the major ski brands. The motivation is to explain, while there are no major manufacturers in the USA, the major European manufactures do produce locally even though their labor costs are even higher than those in the USA. Design/methodology/approach – The paper first describes mid-volume, mid-complexity manufacturing. It then describes the ski industry and ski manufacturing. It then proposes several factors that could drive the choice of ski manufacturing location. It then reports interviews with several top managers at major manufacturers and suppliers. Findings – The findings show that development time and innovation are major drivers in the European market. The desire to lead the market with innovative products precludes the use of manufacturing in Asia, where production and delivery times would be longer. Practical implications – The findings give an example of the ability of manufacturing to remain in higher labor cost countries if development speed and innovation are significant market drivers. Social implications – The health of manufacturing in Western Europe and North America is currently of significant political interest. Companies and government entities may consider what actions they can take to encourage innovation-driven markets. Originality/value – The paper provides an explanation for a significant portion of the manufacturing of a mid-volume and complexity product remaining in higher labor cost countries. As innovation and development speed are found to be major drivers, this can inform manufacturers in other segments where the products and market share characteristics with those found in higher-end downhill skis.

Current trends for the floating liquefied natural gas (FLNG) technologies

Natural gas (NG) and liquefied NG (LNG), which is one trade type of NG, have attracted great attention because their use may alleviate rising concerns about environmental pollution produced by classical fossil fuels and nuclear power plants. However, when gas reserves are located in stranded areas and a portion of the offshore reserves is a significant amount of the total gas reserves, LNG is not suitable because (i) installation of pipelines for the transfer of NG to onshore LNG facilities is expensive and difficult, and (ii) it still has environmental and security problems. As a result, there are many efforts to excavate and monetize these stranded and offshore reserves with floating facilities where offshore liquefaction of NG is possible. Therefore, the development of floating LNG (FLNG) technology is be- coming important. Although the FLNG technologies have advantages over conventional LNG technologies, there are still several roadblocks. To overcome the challenges, modular designs related to the main and typical stages of the FLNG process - gas pretreatment, liquefaction and regasification topsides, hulls, mooring, and transfer systems should be enhanced. Regarding FLNG ongoing operations and future plans, there are six nations (Argentina, Brazil, Kuwait, UAE, UK, and USA) operating FLNG, and a variety of FLNG liquefaction projects will be finished soon. Shell and Petrobras are making rapid strides to build FLNG facilities, and Flex LNG, Hoegh LNG, SBM Linde, MODEC, and Saipem are also building their FLNGs. In this review paper, we initially review the LNG concept and compare it with FLNG. In turn, new and typical FLNG technologies are introduced and the main challenges are also explained with insight into how these challenges are overcome. The main market drivers for FLNG industry are also considered.

Urban land market and land-use changes in post-reform China: A case study of Beijing

China launched an ambitious urban land-use reform to improve land-use efficiency, raise funds for infrastructure construction, and facilitate foreign investment in the late 1980s. Few studies have systematically evaluated the effects of the market mechanisms on land-use changes in Chinese cities. This paper takes the city of Beijing as a case study to quantify the magnitude of land-use changes and model it in relation to spatial and market drivers through time and across the metropolitan region. The analysis uses unique district-level land survey data from 1992, 1996, 2001, 2004 and 2008, as well as land granting records. Analysis reveals that, since the urban land market was established in 1992, the spatial pattern of land uses has changed dramatically in Beijing, land price has exerted a significantly influence on land-use conversion, and the municipal recognition of an open market for land assets has set the spatial–temporal pattern of land uses on a course that sharply differs from past trends in Beijing.

Social Housing Organisations in England and The Netherlands: Between the State, Market and Community

Social Housing Organisations in England and The Netherlands: Between the State, Market and Community

Social Housing Organisations in England and The Netherlands: Between the State, Market and Community

Social Housing Organisations in England and The Netherlands: Between the State, Market and Community

Social Housing Organisations in England and The Netherlands: Between the State, Market and Community

Social Housing Organisations in England and The Netherlands: Between the State, Market and Community

Новый драйвер рынка бактериального вагиноза

Новый драйвер рынка бактериального вагиноза

Development of Russian copper industry under the conditions of the World Trade Organization membership

The article concerns the influence of the obligations undertaken by Russian Federation upon the World Trade Organization accession, on the development of the national copper industry. The main aim of the research is to evaluate if the overall concepts of positive influence of the WTO accession on Russian metallurgy are true for the copper industry. The article reveals the analysis of the factors that determine the development of the stated industry as well as the risks that come from the changes of the business environment. The overall influence of the market drivers on the industry is considered in order to support the assumption that the factors specific for the copper industry can significantly compensate the forecasted general positive influence of the WTO accession on nonferrous metallurgy and moreover: the associated risks will lead to unbalancing of the industry development in the middle and long term perspective. In this regard, as the results of the research the authors expect that the industry development will depend on the world copper market situation even to a greater degree. The copper market in its turn has been following the downwards trend in the last years. The results of this work can be applied to the production strategy development by the companies of the industry as well as become a basis of the analysis of regional economic systems stability.

Which Attributes Influence the Housing Markets Across the Greek Islands?

We analyze the drivers of the housing markets across the Greek Islands. Very little is known and documented about these markets in the literature. By reviewing the extant literature on housing market drivers in general, we delineate how various attributes characterize these housing markets. Heterogeneity in terms of properties, neighborhoods, settlements, islands, and groups of islands contributes to a diverse housing market. At the same time, the political environment, the recent economic recession, complex and unstable institutional frameworks, as well as being an increasingly popular tourist destination have created an environment with considerable housing research interest. By using a unique dataset of properties, we apply the hedonic modelling framework to ascertain the impacts of certain amenities and drivers that may affect housing values and market functioning across the Greek Islands. Our results, while confirming the standard results from the broad literature, also reveal some distinctive effects in the Greek Islands.

Network Based Technology Roadmapping for Future Markets: Case of 3D Printing

A clear and understandable Technology Roadmap (TRM) is necessary to planning and navigating change in the product development process. The fabric of the 3D printing landscape is complex and difficult to understand from single snapshot approach and a TRM is only as useful as it is understandable and easily communicable. Successful Technology Roadmapping involves expert industry analysis, technology expertise, and visual story telling. This research builds upon the principles of existing Technology Roadmapping practices to develop models that apply to the consumer market of the 3D content-to-print industry. In managing the involved complexity, multiple tools and methods have been explored, focusing on the efficacy and legibility of TRM’s. Literature review, analysis of market forces, patent analysis, and quality functional deployment (QFD) were used to establish current and future market drivers and subsequent product features. Technology forecasting and scenario analysis were then used to create product portfolios for 3D content manufactures. The application and research explored creating two future product scenario’s; a low cost (LC) product that would maintain the current state of the art performance metrics tailored to the mass market consumer and a high performance (HP) product that would continue to push the capability of the at home manufacturing performance. These bifurcating foci further complicate the visual illustration of these roadmaps. An exercise in visual display of a large blanket of networks and relationships has led to a powerful tool used to identify future reach and impacts of early technological investments.

Effects of critical brand elements on wine purchasing behaviour in the Mexican market

This work presents a research proposal on consumers of wine in Mexico. The research will focus on the impact of brand attributes on the buying behaviour of consumers in Mexico. There is a paucity of studies on wine branding and generally on place of origin branding typically associated with wine marketing with reference to Mexico. The extension of the advances of wine research to this country will contribute to identifying key marketing drivers in symbolic markets and the effectiveness of destination branding amid product and brand stimuli interference.

Entry, Investment and Competition In Telecommunications and Media Markets

Entry, Investment and Competition In Telecommunications and Media Markets

Mired in the meaning: sustainability in consultancy

This paper explores sustainability as it relates to the services, operations and management of engineering and design (E&amp;D) consulting firms, revealing how sustainability has been adopted by the engineering consulting industry as a key influence on its business. The motivations behind sustainability as a business priority for E&amp;D consulting do not appear to reflect a corporate belief or endorsement of sustainability principles, but rather a reflection of market, employee and government drivers. Through interview-based reporting, the implications of these motivations are the focus of this paper through an exploration of the meaning, understanding and operationalising of sustainability in engineering design, assessment of design and in-firm management and strategy.

Next generation backplane and copper cable challenges

This article provides an overview of some of the work that is ongoing in the IEEE P802.3bj 100 Gb/s Backplane and Copper Cable Task Force. The task force is standardizing Ethernet at 100 Gb/s over a 4-lane backplane channel as well as across a 4-lane copper cable. We first describe the background of the market drivers for this technology, and then give an overview of the various technologies that are used to solve the challenging problems of running across the various mediums at a data rate of 25 Gb/s. Also discussed are the details of the forward error correction, transcoding and physical layer coding that are employed to achieve robust links.

Alternate Energy: US Biogas Markets Growing, Especially Anaerobic Digestion and Organics

AbstractAs the 1985 blockbuster “Back to the Future” predicted when a banana peel was needed to fuel a Delorean, in 2012 we saw major project developments blossoming across the United States and the first food scrap digesters coming online. This article will explore anaerobic digestion (AD) electricity potential across the United States, technology considerations, and the federal, state, and local market drivers that are propelling developments in 2013–14.

Trends and Drivers of the Aesthetic Market during a Turbulent Economy

Trends and Drivers of the Aesthetic Market during a Turbulent Economy

Addressing Gaps in Water Treatment Technology

Management As demand for energy continues to rise and conventional sources become more scarce, oil and gas companies are under pressure to pursue production through unconventional methods and enhanced oil recovery (EOR) technologies. Nearly all unconventional and enhanced recovery methods involve significant amounts of water and, therefore, specific technical and management challenges related to water. Not only does this trend have significant implications for the water treatment business, it also calls for a new level of cooperation between the industrial water treatment sector and the oil and gas industry. With the growing and urgent need for better, commercially effective ways to handle produced water from unconventional production, the question of how the oil and gas industry will be able to access the best that the water treatment industry has to offer now shows the beginnings of a possible answer. The water treatment industry has started to appreciate the complexity of water challenges in the oil and gas industry. Likewise, the latter has begun to look to the former for solutions. This article will review the market drivers and environmental risks behind the rising significance of water treatment in the industry, discuss how some oil and gas producers currently look at the problem of persistent water treatment technology gaps, and point the way forward for better professional collaboration among stakeholders and the development of business opportunities. The time is right for energy companies to see that they have synergies with water companies and for both sectors to recognize that the challenges of water scarcity and environmental protection are, if handled appropriately, opportunities. Market Drivers The current growth in the water treatment market is directly linked to oil prices and demand. With Brent crude holding just above USD 100/bbl and long-term projections predicting that oil will remain a significant portion of the energy mix, energy producers are approaching the problem of declining production from older reservoirs by extracting as much oil as possible from existing assets through the application of EOR methods, most of which require the injection of large amounts of water (miscible gas being the main exception). Extracting oil from mature fields also means that oil companies have to handle the problem of an increasing water/oil ratio (WOR) in the production process (Fig 1). Water production estimates were approximately 250 million B/D in 2007 for a WOR of approximately 3:1 (SPE, 2011); WOR is expected to reach an average of 12 for onshore crude oil resources by 2025 (GWI, 2012).