Market Drivers Research Articles

Identification of market drivers of sustainable growth of the banking system

Identification of market drivers of sustainable growth of the banking system

Assessment of the Impact of Market Drivers on the Sustainable Growth of the Banking System

The article examines the current situation in the Russian banking system, the assessment of which has shown mixed results. The analysis of the forecast indicators of the further development of the Russian banking system has revealed multidirectional trends. For the progressive and sustainable development of the Russian banking system, the authors investigated the interaction of the market environment and the banking system by assessing the impact of the drivers that act as conductors of such impact. Competition, marketing, management, market technologies, market regulation, business planning, and forecasting, bank profit have been suggested as drivers. The authors hypothesized that depending on the type of impact, which is divided into progressive, reactionary, and conservative, as well as the forces of the market environment on the banking system: superficial, segmental, and developing, there will be different situations of adaptation of the banking system to such impacts and, as a result, a different level of stability of the banking system. To implement the hypothesis, the authors proposed formalized parameters for calculating market drivers, identified the possible results of such an implementation, and provided advice on their interpretation.

Improving the feasibility of aquaculture feed by using microalgae.

The aquaculture industry is an efficient edible protein producer and grows faster than any other food sector. Therefore, it requires enormous amounts of fish feed. Fish feed directly affects the quality of produced fish, potential health benefits, and cost. Fish meal (FM), fis oil (FO), and plant-based supplements, predominantly used in fish feed, face challenges of low availability, low nutritional value, and high cost. The cost associated with aquaculture feed represents 40-75% of aquaculture production cost and one of the key market drivers for the thriving aquaculture industry. Microalgae are a primary producer in aquatic food chains. Microalgae are expanding continuously in renewable energy, pharmaceutical pigment, wastewater treatment, food, and feed industries. Major components of microalgal biomass are proteins with essential amino acids, lipids with polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA), carbohydrates, pigments, and other bioactive compounds. Thus, microalgae can be used as an essential, viable, and alternative feed ingredient in aquaculture feed. In recent times, live algae culture, whole algae, and lipid-extracted algae (LEA) have been tested in fish feed for growth, physiological activity, and nutritional value. The present review discusses the potential application of microalgae in aquaculture feed, its mode of application, nutritional value, and possible replacement of conventional feed ingredients, and disadvantages of plant-based feed. The review also focuses on integrated processes such as algae cultivation in aquaculture wastewater, aquaponics systems, challenges, and future prospects of using microalgae in the aquafeed industry.

Gathering local ecological knowledge to augment scientific and management understanding of a living coastal resource: The case of Oregon’s nearshore groundfish trawl fishery

Globally, coastal nearshore regions are an intersecting point for human and biological productivity, often serving as hotspots for subsistence, commercial, and recreational fishing activities. Despite this, many nearshore areas remain poorly understood, monitored or managed. This case study examined the nearshore sector of Oregon’s groundfish trawl fishery, which exists in shallow estuarine and continental shelf habitats common along the West Coast of North America; areas that are important for early life history stages of many commercial and recreational fisheries. The West Coast groundfish fishery includes over 90 different species, 40 of which occur within Oregon’s nearshore (here defined as the portion of the shelf extending seaward to a water depth of 200 m). The very shallow portions of the Oregon Coast (the area of the shelf inshore of 55 m) have been subject to limited scientific survey monitoring, and much of the details of the ecology, health, and processes in these habitats remain poorly understood. The utilization of the nearshore region by the commercial groundfish trawl fleet is also minimally documented despite the fact that experiential knowledge (local ecological knowledge [LEK]; trawl logbooks, fish tickets, interviews) exists. This research explored the capacity of capturing LEK sources to inform and enhance understanding of the drivers of effort and the vitality of nearshore fishery resources. Our approach used statistical analysis and mapping of nearshore trawl effort from 1981 to 2017 and gathered semi-structured interviews of intergenerational fishermen to bolster data-poor areas. Insights provided by sampling strategies and historical to current knowledge of access to groundfish assemblages provide informed baselines for future management. Spatial mapping results revealed a decline in trawl effort on the Oregon continental shelf thought time. Logbook and interview data assessment illuminated market and ecological drivers of fishing behavior as well as a unique sector of the groundfish fleet in Oregon: the beach fleet, with unique market and socio-economic challenges. Findings indicate a mixed-methods approach can provide a more thorough assessment of long-term interest in Oregon’s nearshore groundfish fishery. Ensuring better understanding of coastal interfacing regions such as Oregon’s nearshore insights potential for better conservation and utilization of marine resources and improved monitoring in resource limited management contexts.

Global market integration, efficiency orientation, and drivers of foreign subsidiary divestments

Differences in global market integration across industries have important repercussions for MNC strategy and the drivers of manufacturing subsidiary divestment decisions. Global industry integration and the associated competitive pressures lead MNCs to adopt cost efficiency strategies for their subsidiary networks, and subsidiary divestment decisions are strongly driven by labor cost considerations. In non-integrated industries, host country demand conditions are the prime driver of divestments. These patterns are the most salient for MNCs that have aligned their strategy with the global industry environment. Analysis of the divestment hazards of 3827 Japanese manufacturing subsidiaries in 57 countries provides support for these conjectures.

Evaluation of the effectiveness of vehicle roll stability control (RSC) for high center of gravity light passenger vehicles in Australasia

Objective Rollover crashes, which occur when the vehicle’s side or roof makes impact with the ground, present particularly serious injury risk. Higher rollover risk has been found for high riding vehicles – those with a relatively high center of gravity compared to the width of the wheel track. Electronic Stability Control (ESC), which automatically applies brakes to individual wheels and reduces engine power to help drivers regain control when traction is lost, has been shown to be effective in preventing a proportion of rollovers. A newer safety technology, Roll Stability Control (RSC), uses similar technology aimed specifically to reduce rollover risk. This study sought to estimate rollover crash rates associated with the fitment of RSC compared to non-fitment for high center of gravity (CG) light passenger vehicles using an induced exposure analysis. Methods Police-recorded Australasian crash data were studied for the years 2008-2017. A quasi-induced exposure analysis was restricted to vehicles already equipped with ESC as vehicles fitted with RSC always have ESC fitted. Rollover risk associated with RSC fitment was assessed, controlling for year of crash, speed limit at crash location, year of vehicle manufacture, vehicle market group, driver age, driver gender and jurisdiction identifier. Results The analysis found a statistically significant rollover risk ratio of 0.76 (95% CI 0.62-0.93), representing a 24% reduction in rollover risk, associated with RSC fitment for vehicles manufactured between 2008 and 2017. Analysis by particular market groups found significant risk ratio reductions for commercial utilities and large SUVs, but not for the other high CG market groups individually. Conclusions These results suggest that RSC is a highly effective safety feature for high CG vehicles. Fleet data from Australia and New Zealand showed declining rates of RSC fitment over recent years for SUVs, meaning the potential road safety benefits of the technology are not being fully realized.

Value Factors, Capture Prices and Cannibalism: nightmares for renewable energy decision-makers

Abstract Renewable energy sources increasingly seek to compete in electricity markets outside of traditional support schemes. In this context, market values and the cannibalization risks of wind and solar photovoltaic (PV) take on crucial roles for investment decisions and potential investors. Most existing studies analyse the market value of renewables at different penetration levels, looking at the extent to which PV panels and wind turbines cannibalize their own market revenues. This article explores how other market and policy drivers affect wind and PV value factors and capture prices in real-world settings over the next three decades. To this end, we model and analyse a number of scenarios with altered natural gas, coal and carbon prices as well as varied availabilities of wind and PV in Europe. We find that higher natural gas and carbon prices result in lower wind and PV value factors and vice versa, while the influence of coal prices is rather limited. Our results show substantial merit order effects on absolute wind and PV capture prices, following varied availabilities yet no significant cross-cannibalization between the two technologies.

Building information modelling (BIM) penetration in quantity surveying (QS) practice

PurposeThis study investigates building information modelling (BIM) penetration in quantity surveying (QS) practice by examining the significance attached to the benefits and barriers of BIM adoption, BIM capabilities and future directions of BIM in QS processes. A popular opinion amongst construction researchers is that BIM has the capacity to revolutionize the industry. The study draws-out information in the literature regarding discipline-specific penetration of BIM.Design/methodology/approachSnowball sampling method was used to obtain information through a survey questionnaire. A total of 73 participants, largely quantity surveyors in Western Australia, took part in the study. Reductionist methodology was used to identify key variables of QS-BIM competencies that are most significant statistically.FindingsBIM does not impose additional difficulties to traditional QS processes. Adherence to standard method of measurement and limited market demand do not hinder BIM deployment significantly. Quantity surveyors are able to use BIM to support their professional services once definitive design models are involved. In addition, the study identifies BIM penetration barriers to include constraints caused by centralised database management and interoperability issues, limitations imposed by market drivers, lack of in-house expertise to manage modelling needs and limited capability in software management.Practical implicationsFuture opportunities for skill development are in the areas noted in the findings. Whilst many studies have reported resistance and widespread scepticism amongst some construction disciplines regarding BIM adoption, this study finds BIM penetration in QS practice is considerable, a direction that could trigger further novel innovations.Originality/valueThe methodology reported in the study is novel. In addition, findings from the study inspires other discipline-specific studies to articulate their BIM-penetration trends so that t broad areas of construction can develop a balanced strategy around BIM and innovation development.

Impact of external factors on e-commerce market in cities and its implications on environment

The e-commerce market in cities is currently one of the fastest-growing markets. By observing the current changes taking place in it, we have a unique opportunity to learn about its potential development directions in the future with great acceleration. Some of the recent changes caused by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic have a chance to affect this market's development in the coming years permanently. The paper's primary purpose is to identify relationships between factors that could significantly impact sustainable e-commerce development in cities, mainly including environmental issues, on the example of the European Union Countries. For this purpose, five groups of factors (criteria), based on literature, were selected: e-commerce drivers (Internet and mobile access, macroeconomic conditions and social aspects in the country), criteria describing the e-commerce market in cities, and criteria that assess the impact of the development of the e-commerce market in cities on the environment were assessed. According to the authors' proposal, the relationships between these groups of factors were verified, taking into account the network model of connections. For this purpose, the multi-criteria decision-making method with the use of the PROMETHEE technique has been applied. The research results presented in the paper confirmed that the relations between the analyzed groups of criteria are complex. In most countries, high positions in the rankings containing criteria describing the so-called drivers of the e-commerce market also translate into high places in the order describing this market's development. At the same time, those countries where the e-commerce activity in cities is high present lower environmental conditions.

Towards a dead end? EMU bond market exposure and manager performance

Using factor models we empirically investigate the performance of European Monetary Union (EMU) bond managers. We find that (1) alpha is time varying, (2) bond managers exhibit alpha in the short run as opposed to long-term prior to the Global Financial Crisis (GFC), and (3) bond fund alpha is associated with government bond funds and funds with heavy exposure to government bonds. Our factor models do not detect alpha in corporate and high-yield bond funds on average. We observe that alpha was much higher in the period prior to the GFC that began in 2008. The number of funds in our sample generating alpha dropped significantly after that crisis and remained very low from 2008 to 2017 as EMU markets recovered. We apply three models to evaluate EMU bond fund manager alpha. We use the two bond-market related Fama-French factors – term and default. In addition, we use the three equity market-related Fama-French factors – size, value, and market – together with the momentum factor. We find evidence that the bond market-related Fama-French factors are significant for the EMU bond funds in our sample, but the equity market-related Fama-French factors are not. By applying factor analysis to the returns of EMU bond funds, we (1) identify the economic drivers of EMU bond market returns and (2) show the performance of bond portfolio managers regarding alpha prior to the GFC and explain the possible lack of alpha after the GFC.

Big Data Analytics-as-a-Service: Bridging the gap between security experts and data scientists

We live in an interconnected and pervasive world where huge amount of data are collected every second. Fully exploiting data through advanced analytics, machine learning and artificial intelligence, becomes crucial for businesses, from micro to large enterprises, resulting in a key advantage (or shortcoming) in the global market competition, as well as in a strong market driver for business analytics solutions. This scenario is deeply changing the security landscape, introducing new risks and threats that affect security and privacy of systems, on one side, and safety of users, on the other side. Many domains that can benefit from novel solutions based on data analytics have stringent security requirements to fulfill. The Energy domain’s Smart Grid is a major example of systems at the crossroads of security and data-driven intelligence. The Smart Grid plays a crucial role in modern energy infrastructure. However, it must face two major challenges related to security: managing front-end intelligent devices such as power assets and smart meters securely, and protecting the huge amount of data received from these devices. Starting from these considerations, setting up proper analytics is a complex problem because security controls could have the undesired side effect of decreasing the accuracy of the analytics themselves. This is even more critical when the configuration of security controls is let to the security expert, who often has only basic skills in data science. In this paper, we propose a solution based on the concept of Model-Based Big Data Analytics-as-a-Service (MBDAaaS) that bridges the gap between security experts and data scientists. Our solution acts as a middleware allowing a security expert and a data scientist to collaborate to the deployment of an analytics addressing their needs.

Analysis of the Microgravity Research Ecosystem and Market Drivers of Accessibility

For decades, the International Space Station (ISS) has operated as a bastion of international cooperation and a unique testbed for microgravity research. In recent years, private industry has also been affiliating with NASA and international partners to offer transportation, logistics management, and payload demands. As the costs of flying projects to the ISS decrease, the barriers limiting nontraditional partners from accessing the ISS also decrease. However, the ISS in its current form cannot be sustained forever. As NASA looks toward commercialization of low Earth orbit (LEO) and the development of a cislunar station, concrete plans for shifting the public–private relationship of the ISS are unclear. With the consistent need to continue microgravity research—from governments and private industry—understanding the socio-technical and policy issues that affect the ecosystem for future microgravity platforms is essential to maintaining an accessible and sustainable space economy. Through this work, the authors seek to evaluate the accessibility of the evolving microgravity research ecosystem. To measure accessibility, the authors propose a new framework in which accessibility is defined along new metrics of economic and administrative openness. Through case study research, the authors conducted interviews with industry experts and organizational representatives and reviewed publicly available data about microgravity research platforms from the ground to LEO. This article then leverages Systems Architecture methods to examine the stakeholders, needs, objectives, system functions, and forms for the ISS and microgravity research platforms now and in the future. Particular attention is paid toward the market dynamics affecting barriers to entry for emerging space nations and nontraditional spaceflight participants. Evaluations found that end users utilize a variety of fully public, mixed public/private, and fully private pathways to gain access to microgravity research platforms and that mixed public/private pathways fostered the highest levels of economic and administrative openness.

Drivers of Social Media Content Marketing in the Banking Sector

Due to technological advancement, the economy is shifting from market-driven stature to a network-oriented economy, and social media has captured prime IT trends of the technology world. The banking sector has also been trapped in the digital wave, and the banks are compelled to focus and redefine their digitalisation processes as they witness a rapid change in consumer behaviour and buying habits. Digital marketing and other social media platforms have enabled banks to become an influential tool in not only acquiring the target prospects but also for facilitating their businesses. Content marketing is a crucial ingredient to the overall digital marketing strategy to measure the effectiveness and success of an organization's online communication. Apart from the quality of the content, marketers should be conscious and must introspect their respective target audiences while delivering and promoting the content. This research paper is based on an extensive literature review that outlines the concept of social media content marketing while highlighting the various benefits it offers to the banking sector, thereby defining multiple digital media content marketing strategies that enable banks to accomplish their objectives.

Survey on Intelligence Edge Computing in 6G: Characteristics, Challenges, Potential Use Cases, and Market Drivers

Intelligence Edge Computing (IEC) is the key enabler of emerging 5G technologies networks and beyond. IEC is considered to be a promising backbone of future services and wireless communication systems in 5G integration. In addition, IEC enables various use cases and applications, including autonomous vehicles, augmented and virtual reality, big data analytic, and other customer-oriented services. Moreover, it is one of the 5G technologies that most enhanced market drivers in different fields such as customer service, healthcare, education methods, IoT in agriculture and energy sustainability. However, 5G technological improvements face many challenges such as traffic volume, privacy, security, digitization capabilities, and required latency. Therefore, 6G is considered to be promising technology for the future. To this end, compared to other surveys, this paper provides a comprehensive survey and an inclusive overview of Intelligence Edge Computing (IEC) technologies in 6G focusing on main up-to-date characteristics, challenges, potential use cases and market drivers. Furthermore, we summarize research efforts on IEC in 5G from 2014 to 2021, in which the integration of IEC and 5G technologies are highlighted. Finally, open research challenges and new future directions in IEC with 6G networks will be discussed.

The Why, What, and How of Artificial General Intelligence Chip Development

The AI chips increasingly focus on implementing neural computing at low power and cost. The intelligent sensing, automation, and edge computing applications have been the market drivers for AI chips. Increasingly, the generalisation, performance, robustness, and scalability of the AI chip solutions are compared with human-like intelligence abilities. Such a requirement to transit from application-specific to general intelligence AI chip must consider several factors. This article provides an overview of this cross-disciplinary field of study, elaborating on the generalisation of intelligence as understood in building artificial general intelligence (AGI) systems. This work presents a listing of emerging AI chip technologies, classification of edge AI implementations, and the funnel design flow for AGI chip development. Finally, the design consideration required for building an AGI chip is listed along with the methods for testing and validating it.

A public health based vision for the management and regulation of opioids

Prohibition of the possession of opioids for non-medical purposes and medical/pharmaceutical commercialization of opioids are important contributors to the current opioid overdose epidemic. A new model of regulation is urgently required. Within the context of a public health framework, we explore supply control, demand reduction, health promotion, and harm reduction and describe an alternative regulatory model that includes access for medical and non-medical purposes. Oversight of this proposed new system would include a control structure with an explicit public health mandate to minimize harms and maximize benefits of opioids. Medical access would be achieved through multi-disciplinary teams who would prescribe a range of opioids for 1) pain, 2) treatment for patients who develop opioid use disorder, and 3) other medical indications. Non-medical access could be achieved through models that would allow adults to purchase and use opioids for either supervised or take-home use. We describe three possible models to support jurisdiction specific discussions around the world. The first includes education and training that could result in certification with a basic or advanced license or a purchase authorization card. The second includes mandatory training that allows general access to opioids, but excludes people with problematic opioid use. The third model has optional training and excludes people with problematic opioid use. Allowing for inclusion of people dependent on the current illegal market during transition is highlighted. With any of these models, this approach, while attending to illegal market drivers, would result in a greatly reduced illegal opioid market and its attendant toxic products, reduced violence and corruption, and at the same time, provide a sharper focus for medical use with more appropriate prescribing and indications.

Public housing, intersectoral competition, and urban ground rent: Iran’s first public housing program that never was

This paper investigates the structural political economic drivers of the housing market in urban Iran and the ways in which social and economic dynamics of the housing sector are rooted in peculiarities of Iranian capitalism, characterized by a relatively small public economy, low productivity of capital, and an underdeveloped financial system. The paper examines these processes and mechanisms in the light of the illustrative case of the country’s first and largest state-led housing program, the Mehr Housing Program (MHP). The paper argues that the program’s failure is due primarily to the state’s market-oriented approach toward housing. The MHP’s units were sold at their market prices, and the state subsidized the land to the developers with low rent, facilitating investments. Utilizing an intersectoral and multi-scalar analytical framework, we further argue that what drives the investment is absolute ground rent present in the housing sector due to its labor-intensive character. The high level of rent is due to persistently low profitability in the manufacturing sector and, subsequently, excess profits in construction and housing. Thus, rent-seeking investors tend to invest in housing. These peculiarities of the Iranian economy determined the trajectory and the failure of the MHP as a public housing initiative.

Holistic Approach to a Successful Market Implementation of Active and Intelligent Food Packaging

Market implementation of active and intelligent packaging (AIP) technologies specifically for fiber-based food packaging can be hindered by various factors. This paper highlights those from a social, economic, environmental, and legislative point of view, and elaborates upon the following aspects mainly related to interactions among food packaging value chain stakeholders: (i) market drivers that affect developments, (ii) the gap between science and industry, (iii) the gap between legislation and practice, (iv) cooperation between the producing stakeholders within the value chain, and (v) the gap between the industry and consumers. We perceive these as the most influential aspects in successful market implementation at a socioeconomic level. The findings are supported by results from quantitative studies analyzing consumer buying expectations about active and intelligent packaging (value perception of packaging functions, intentions to purchase AIP, and willingness to pay more) executed in 16 European countries. Finally, in this paper, we discuss approaches that could direct future activities in the field towards industrial implementation.

Immune or at-risk? Stock markets and the significance of the COVID-19 pandemic

The closure of borders and traditional commerce due to the COVID-19 pandemic is expected to have a lasting financial impact. We determine whether the growth in COVID-19 affected index prices by examining equity markets in five regional epicentres, along with a ‘global’ index. We also investigate the impact of COVID-19 after controlling for investor sentiment, credit risk, liquidity risk, safe-haven asset demand and the price of oil. Despite controlling for these traditional market drivers, the daily totals of COVID-19 cases nevertheless explained index price changes in Spain, Italy, the United Kingdom and the United States. Similar results were not observed in China, the origin of the virus, nor in the ‘global’ index (MSCI World). Our results suggest that early interventions (China) and the spatiotemporal nature of pandemic epicentres (World) should be considered by governments, regulators and relevant stakeholders in the event of future COVID-19 ‘waves’ or further extreme societal disruptions.

Agglomeration and driving factors of regional innovation space based on intelligent manufacturing and green economy

As the workshop of the world, China is building regional innovation spaces based on intelligent manufacturing and green economy to promote the transformation, upgrading and green development of traditional industries. In order to explore the agglomeration and driving factors of intelligent manufacturing driven regional green innovation space, and the impact of green innovation on enterprise performance in such regions, this study conducted a survey on intelligent manufacturing enterprises, and the results showed that the overall factors in environmental regulation drive regional green system coordinated innovation development with a P value less than 0.05, there is a big difference in this. Geographical proximity has a significant positive impact on the collaborative development of green innovation systems in China’s regions. Whether it is a technological driver, a market driver, or an environmental regulatory factor, it has a significant impact on the collaborative development of regional green innovation systems. Moreover, green innovation has a significant promoting effect on the economic performance and environmental performance of intelligent manufacturing enterprises. • The driving factors of green innovation in traditional manufacturing enterprises and the relationship between green innovation and corporate are explored. • The technological, market and environmental regulation factor has a significant impact on the coordinated development level of the regional green innovation system. • Geographical proximity has a coordinated development of China’s regional green innovation system. • The regional innovation spatial agglomeration and driving factors of intelligent manufacturing and green economy are explored.