Mature Market Research Articles

Residential photovoltaic and energy storage systems for sustainable development: An economic analysis applied to incentive mechanisms

AbstractThe photovoltaic (PV) system has a very significant growing global trend and its role is essential in combating climate change. However, its intermittent nature requires integration with a battery energy storage system (BES). This work proposes an economic analysis based on net present value (NPV) for an integrated PV + BES system in a mature market (Italy). The analyses are applied to different policy (used for both PV and BES) and market (purchase price, selling price) contexts. Results show that the NPV(PV) ranges from 1061 to 7426 €/kW. The work identifies the conditions under which BES is affordable. The required increase in self‐consumption varies in the 14%–35% range. The purchase price and the percentage of energy‐self‐consumption play a crucial role in the profitability assessment of a PV + BES system. Incentive policies based on subsidized tax deductions and subsidies for energy produced and self‐consumed can enable a more sustainable energy future in the residential sector. This work suggests a mix of policy choices: (i) a subsidized tax deduction larger than 50% and a bonus for energy produced and self‐consumed for PV plants; (ii) subsidized tax deduction also for BESs but at a lower value than for PV plants; and (iii) encouraging a recycling industry.

Why do consumers continue to use OTT services?

As consumers’ interest in over-the-top (OTT) platforms has been increasing, we thoroughly examined the factors affecting the continuous usage intention of OTT services using the dual post-adoption model. In this study, we analyzed the structural relationships between user satisfaction, resistance to switching, and continuous usage intention, with dedication- (personalization and content diversity) and constraint-based (investment cost and learning effort) factors as the main variables using PWSW (SPSS) 23.0 and AMOS 22.0. The results showed that dedication-based factors had positive effects on user satisfaction and constraint-based factors had positive effects on resistance to switching. Due to the use of phantom variables and bootstrap methods to verify the significance of individual mediation effects, dedication-based factors affected continuous usage intention through user satisfaction, whereas constraint-based factors had a greater effect on continuous usage intention when mediated by resistance to switching. Lastly, user satisfaction and resistance to switching had positive effects on continuous usage intention. This study is important because it is the first to apply the benefits and costs perceived using OTT services to a dual post-adoption model and specifically identifies the key factors affecting intention to continue using the OTT service. Our findings can provide practical guidelines to establish effective platform management strategies for companies providing OTT services by analyzing the specific reasons why consumers continue to use existing services in the current mature OTT market from two perspectives.

Strategies of the Russian Companies in the E-Grocery Market

The COVID-19 pandemic, as the main, but not the only factor, led to a rapid increase in consumer demand for grocery delivery services ordered via the Internet (e-grocery), as well as in the revenue of Russian companies on the e-grocery market during the period from 2019 to 2021. This article examines in detail main factors of the external and internal environment that influenced the change in the shares of companies on the Russian e-grocery market and provided strategic competitive advantages to leaders in the long-term period. As the result of studying the market situation during the period from 2019 to 2021, it was revealed that over the three years of the development of the e-grocery market in Russia, in each of the period different players were in the lead. Utkonos, X5 Retail Group and Sbermarket occupied from 13% to 19.5% of the total market. Based on data obtained during the market analysis using SV Matrix, the Russian e-grocery has moved from the stage of formation, competition between small players to the stage of maturity and struggle between consolidated alpha-companies. High entry barriers to a mature market require new companies to have sufficient capacity already at the start to secure their positions.

Feasibility analysis of decarbonizing coal-fired power plants with 100% renewable energy and flexible green hydrogen production

In the context of global decarbonization, China announced to peak its CO2 emission before 2030 and achieve carbon neutrality before 2060. The power sector dominates the total CO2 emissions in China, where coal-fired power plants are both the largest source of power generation and CO2 emissions, so exploring its decarbonized transition is essential to achieving the carbon neutrality commitment. To this end, this paper proposes a novel carbon-free retrofitting scheme for coal-fired power plants based on 100% renewable energy, hybrid energy storage system, and flexible green hydrogen production using energy curtailment, which can be techno-economically feasible for practical applications. Then, the multi-regional and multi-temporal profitability of this retrofitting scheme is comprehensively assessed to confirm the proposed hypothesis via a life cycle economic optimization model. Taking the province-level regions in China as case studies, the assessment results reveal that the proposed retrofitting scheme is technically feasible in all investigated regions, and economically profitable in Jilin, Shanghai, Liaoning, and Heilongjiang regions with rich wind resource. Particularly, the optimal net present value of the proposed scheme in Jilin is 24.04 billion CNY, higher than the figure for carbon capture and storage-based retrofit (5.79 billion CNY) and even the non-retrofitted plant (9.28 billion CNY), confirming its economic superiority in specific regions. The cost breakdown in Jilin indicates that the flexible green hydrogen production using energy curtailment can additionally provide 106.3 billion CNY hydrogen trading revenue to recover the overall retrofitting cost (104.7 billion CNY), while the retrofitting scheme without electrolyzer will suffer a 44.17 billion CNY deficit owing to the oversized configuration. Moreover, the long-term profitability analysis shows that the proposed retrofitting scheme in Jilin can always achieve the best profitability from 2022 to 2050 despite the decline of projected hydrogen price, with the net present value ranging from 24.04 billion CNY to 1.12 billion CNY. Overall, this paper provides a techno-economically feasible solution for the decarbonizing transition of coal-fired power plants, and the proposed retrofit can be piloted in regions with rich renewable energy resources and mature hydrogen trading market.

Informal employment on domestic care platforms: a study on the individualisation of risk and unpaid labour in mature market contexts

This article explains how digitally mediated provision of domestic care services perpetuates the invisibility and informality of such work through individualising risk, which we operationalise by one of its dimensions, that of unpaid labour. We understand unpaid labour as the cost of the risk borne individually by workers at the intersection of the social (inter-personal) and economic (monetary) spheres. Drawing on the experiences of domestic care workers providing their services through platforms, the study shows how platforms have made their way into the labour markets and welfare structures of two mature economies, Belgium and France. Via their (digital) rules, they pursue ‘regulatory compliance’ and ‘disruption’ as distinct strategies for establishing platform dominance, albeit with country-based differences. Platform-mediated employment outcomes remain generally unrecognised, undocumented and informal, with unpaid labour characterising the cost of the individualisation of risk.

Reversed Phase-Liquid Chromatography for Recombinant AAV Genome Integrity Assessment.

After decades of research, gene therapy products have reached market maturity in recent years. Recombinant adeno-associated viruses (rAAVs) are one of the most promising gene delivery vehicles and are currently under intense scientific investigation. These next-generation medicines remain very challenging when it comes to designing appropriate analytical techniques for quality control. One critical quality attribute is the integrity of ssDNA incorporated in these vectors. The genome is the active compound driving rAAV therapy and therefore requires proper assessment and quality control. Current techniques for rAAV genome characterization include next-generation sequencing, quantitative polymerase chain reaction, analytical ultracentrifugation (AUC), and capillary gel electrophoresis (CGE), yet each of them presents their limitations or lack of user-friendliness. In this work, we demonstrate for the first time the potential of ion pairing-reverse phase-liquid chromatography (IP-RP-LC) to characterize the integrity of rAAV genomes. The obtained results were supported by two orthogonal techniques, AUC and CGE. IP-RP-LC can be performed above DNA melting temperatures, avoiding the detection of secondary DNA isoforms, and does not require the use of dyes due to UV detection. We demonstrate that this technique is suitable for batch comparability, different rAAV serotypes (AAV2 and AAV8), internal vs external (inside vs outside the capsid) DNA analysis, and contaminated samples. Overall, it is exceptionally user-friendly, needs limited sample preparation, has high reproducibility, and permits fractionation for further peak characterization. All of these factors add significant value of IP-RP-LC to the analytical toolbox of rAAV genome assessment.

Luxury home market and pre-sales challenges: Aldeola-de-Siolim, Goa

Learning outcomes The learning outcomes of this study are as follows: identify key elements of luxury branding in the context of a new residential real estate brand; select target segment/s and outline the sales pitch for a luxury residential real estate brand; plot the pre-sales stage of the customer journey path (CJP) for a luxury residential real estate brand; and plan a pre-sales customer engagement strategy for a luxury residential real estate brand. Case overview/synopsis This case enumerates Aldeola de Siolim, Goa’s (ASG) pre-sales promotional challenges. ASG was an upcoming luxury residential property in Goa, India. Venky Infar – the developer of ASG – a family-owned civil construction firm – wanted to diversify into Goa’s vibrant luxury housing market. In India’s housing market, the success of a project often depends on the “pre-sales,” i.e. attracting target customers and maximizing the sales before the construction. V. Rama Rao, the project manager’s task, was challenging because ASG and Venky were new entrants in a mature and competitive market. However, Rao was determined to capture a slice of this lucrative market. The case discusses the following four points to help the students understand the marketing challenges and decision context. First, ASG’s key attractions, second, overview of the Indian real estate market, third, characteristics of Goa’s luxury home market and finally, Customer Journey Path for residential real estate purchase. The case elaborates on the nuances of strategic dilemmas and and presents competitors' practices and emerging consumer trends. Complexity academic level The case will help students analyze and formulate a pre-sales promotional plan for a luxury real estate product. It is suitable for marketing elective courses, e.g. branding, sales management and luxury management. Supplementary materials Teaching notes are available for educators only. Subject code CSS 8: Marketing

Photovoltaic supply chain and government subsidy decision-making based on China's industrial distributed photovoltaic policy: A power perspective

As a clean energy source, photovoltaic (PV) power generation best meets the current demand for energy transformation. In particular, industrial distributed PV projects in China have developed rapidly, forming a mature market trading mechanism, and the Chinese government's subsidy policy has strongly supported their development. However, lucrative government subsidies often lead to PV enterprises not paying attention to technological innovation and blind production. Therefore, to improve the efficiency of government subsidies, enhance the overall performance of the PV supply chain, and achieve the healthy and long-term development of the PV industry. In this paper, we consider the actual demand preference characteristics of users, and construct game models of the PV supply chain under different power structures. We explore the optimal decisions of the PV supply chain enterprises and the formulation of optimal government subsidies under different power structures. The results show that (1) reasonable government subsidies have an incentive effect, which can increase manufacturers' profits, service providers' profits and social welfare level, and improve the demand for PV products. (2) Different power structures significantly affect the government's optimal subsidy, PV system manufacturer (PSM)'s and PV system service provider (PSSP)'s optimal decision-makings, while it does not affect social welfare. (3) Government subsidies are much larger in the Stackelberg case than in the Nash equilibrium case. Government subsidies are positively proportional to PV product market size, user quality preference factor (QPF), user product coverage preference factor (PCPF), industrial unit electricity price, photovoltaic conversion efficiency, and effective generation hours, and inversely proportional to PV product discount sensitivity, production cost, quality innovation cost factor (QICF), and effort performance cost factor (EPCF).

Ex-ante market power evaluation and mitigation in day-ahead electricity market considering market maturity levels

Market power is detrimental to the fair operation of the spot market, thus many market power evaluation and mitigation approaches have been put forward. However, due to the market maturity levels and the approaches themselves, excessive/deficient mitigation or high computational burden for a more accurate evaluation in practice are not rare. Therefore, in this paper, we propose a combined market power evaluation and mitigation framework, based on the emerging electricity day-ahead markets, in which the market power mitigation can be achieved ex-ante to the market clearing and can be flexibly adopted according to the market maturity levels during the development of the markets. More specifically, an ex-ante Customized Market Operation (CMO) indicator is first proposed to evaluate the market power of individual generators. Secondly, based on the CMO and the maturity of the market levels, an optimal CMO threshold is derived through the Best and Worst Method (BWM)-Entropy approach to mitigate the market power via limiting individual generators’ offer coefficients. Finally, the proposed CMO-BWM-Entropy approach is applied to the Chinese electricity markets under different maturity levels. Our results indicate that the accuracy of market power mitigation, quantified by the Lerner index, is 10 times higher than other existing ex-ante market power mitigation approaches, and the computational efficiency is 50 times faster than the compared ones.

Corrigendum to “Electric vehicle adoption in a mature market: A case study of Norway” [Journal of Transport Geography 106 (2023) Start page–End page/103489

Corrigendum to “Electric vehicle adoption in a mature market: A case study of Norway” [Journal of Transport Geography 106 (2023) Start page–End page/103489

"A Debate on the Product Lifecycle Implications and Product Market Behavior"

The product life-cycle marketing approach is a concept that describes the sales and profit margin of a given product category over a prolonged period - from lust to dust. The concept holds that a product's sales and profits change over time in a predictable manner-at least in the four distinct major stages of introduction, growth, maturity, and decline. It is important to understand product life-cycles curves to make the best use of engineering resources. The paper presents figures that characterize various industry products and their lifecycle curves. The amount of development money invested in a product intended for rapid market penetration, for example, is considerably less than for a one destined to a long-term stable, mature market. In this context we illustrate the types of feedback used by engineering during the various stages of product life-cycle. Finally, we consider that engineers responsible for product or process improvement must recognize what phase of the product life-cycle is in to practice the most effective research.

Feasibility Study of Nuclear Power Included in Carbon Trading Market: A Case Study of China's Carbon Market

As an innovative economic and clean source of energy, now nuclear power is the most worthy of large-scale development in the world. Especially in China, the development of nuclear power is not only related to China's energy security, but also of great significance to economic development and international status. Mature and stable carbon emission market is also very important for the implementation of new energy technology. Therefore whenever it comes to carbon trading, as a derivative means for countries in the world to participate in global carbon emission control, it has developed rapidly in China in recent years. Through theoretical analysis and sample data analysis, this paper studies current policies and historical sources, finds out the possible mechanism for nuclear power to enter the carbon trading market, and describes the economic benefits of the combination of nuclear power and carbon trading market. The results show that there is a correlation and causality between nuclear power and other power generation methods and carbon market, and there is a large profit space when carbon trading is included. Nuclear power has potential value for inclusion in the carbon market.

The Risk Contagion between Chinese and Mature Stock Markets: Evidence from a Markov-Switching Mixed-Clayton Copula Model

Exploring the risk spillover between Chinese and mature stock markets is a promising topic. In this study, we propose a Markov-switching mixed-Clayton (Ms-M-Clayton) copula model that combines a state transition mechanism with a weighted mixed-Clayton copula. It is applied to investigate the dynamic risk dependence between Chinese and mature stock markets in the Americas, Europe, and Asia-Oceania regions. Additionally, the conditional value at risk (CoVaR) is applied to analyze the risk spillovers between these markets. The empirical results demonstrate that there is mainly a time-varying but stable positive risk dependence structure between Chinese and mature stock markets, where the upside and downside risk correlations are asymmetric. Moreover, the risk contagion primarily spills over from mature stock markets to the Chinese stock market, and the downside effect is stronger. Finally, the risk contagion from Asia-Oceania to China is weaker than that from Europe and the Americas. The study provides insights into the risk association between emerging markets, represented by China, and mature stock markets in major regions. It is significant for investors and risk managers, enabling them to avoid investment risks and prevent risk contagion.

Implications of the European gas market for the long‐term construction of underground gas storage in China

AbstractUnderground gas storage (UGS) is an important part of the natural gas industry. Its peaking characteristics and storage capacity are critical to national energy supply and energy security. Compared with the mature gas market in Europe, the construction of UGSs in China faces many challenges. This study is expected to provide references for China UGS through a detailed analysis and calculations of the European natural gas market and underground storage. First, the current status and development of the European gas market were summarized. And the situation of primary energy structure, gas utilization, and UGSs construction was compared between the EU and China. Second, the working gas volume of UGSs in Europe was analyzed from the perspective of its relationship with total consumption and peak‐shaving volume. Finally, the simulation and prediction of the working curve of the energy storage facilities and the reasonable ratio of the energy storage to load were solved by the numerical fitting method. Meanwhile, the recommendations for China's natural gas market and UGSs were provided. It is appropriate to set the planning target of China UGS capacity to load at 5% of total consumption and the actual peaking gas volume will be 14.4 billion cubic meters by 2030.

A time differencing qualitative comparative analysis (QCA) of public-private partnership (PPP) market maturity

ABSTRACT This study examines how institutional change affects public-private partnership (PPP) market maturity. Using a novel Time Differencing Qualitative Comparative Analysis (QCA) method, the institutional settings of 19 different PPP markets across Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) were analysed between 2009 and 2014. The results show enhancing the regulatory framework and institutional knowledge are necessary in order to increase PPP market maturity in most cases. However, a deteriorating investment climate coupled with a weaker regulatory framework led to declines in PPP market maturity. This suggests that the influence of institutional change on PPP market maturity is not symmetrical.

The Blue Bond Market: A Catalyst for Ocean and Water Financing

The blue bond market has emerged as one of the latest additions in the sustainable debt market. Its goal is to channel funding toward sustainable blue economy projects related to the ocean and freshwater. While the protection of hydric resources has gained importance within the problem of climate change, Sustainable Development Goals linked to water remain the most underfunded. Since the issuance of the first blue bond in the Seychelles in 2018, multiple public and private organizations have turned to the blue bond market to raise funds. However, unlike the green bond market, no comprehensive market overview exists, preventing stakeholders from judging whether this label has been effective in protecting water resources and drawing conclusions on its future potential. This paper draws on an extensive review of academic research and complements it with a unique and comprehensive analysis of blue bonds issued to date, providing a contribution to the literature on sustainable finance. Between 2018 and 2022, 26 blue bond transactions took place, amounting to a total value of USD 5.0 billion, with a 92% CAGR between those years. Currently, blue bonds represent less than 0.5% of the sustainable debt market. The use of proceeds has mostly focused on waste management, biodiversity, and sustainable fisheries, but also ranges across other areas of the sustainable blue economy. Only two-thirds of blue bond issuers report on impact metrics, providing further opportunity to add detail and rigor. We draw comparisons to the more mature green bond market and conclude that a lack of standardized definitions, metrics, and expertise by issuers and investors are significant barriers to the blue bond market. Resolving these barriers is crucial to attract corporations and ensure continued growth of the blue bond market.

Analysis of the development of REIT in various countries to provide ideas for China’s trust fund market

With rise of economic level and the development of society, decreasing in Engel’s coefficient, people’s financial awareness and financial concepts have changed a lot. As one of the four pillars of finance, trust plays an important part in financial system. Compared to other three financial pillars, Banking, Insurance and Securities, there is no special regulatory authorities for the trust industry, and the relevant laws and regulations have not been improved. This paper focuses on studying the REIT markets of England, America, Japan, and Australia these four overseas countries in order to learn more about the development of mature REITs market and summarize the main features in order to provide references and ideas for the benign development of China’s REIT market.

Comparison of the Performances for Mean Revision Strategy Based on Three Underlying Assets

The predictability of funds returns has always been a hot topic in academic circles. Relevant scholars have carried out a lot of empirical studies and found that funds prices tend to revert to the mean after rising and falling for a while. In view of the fund long-term return forecast problem, this study investigates the performances of three underlying assets, i.e ., ZhongOu Medical And Health Hybrid A, Fullgoal China Securities New Energy Vehicle Index (LOF)A, and ZhongRong Securities Coal Index. To be specific, this study starts with introducing theory for mean reversion. Three analytical metrics were adopted for quantitative analysis: Sharpe Ratio, Mean-Variance and Price Discovery. Based on the evaluations, the mean-reverting of stock returns is estimated from both theoretical and empirical perspectives. Besides, the performances for the mean revision strategy are compared. According to the analysis, stock prices tend to revert after rising and falling for a while; therefore, the mean reversion phenomenon in the track stock is more obvious. These results indicate that the mean reversion is suitable for higher market maturity. These results shed light on guiding further exploration of choosing appropriate investing time and strategy.

A Tripartite Evolutionary Game on Promoting the Development of Nearly-Zero Energy Consumption Buildings in China

Nearly zero-energy-consumption buildings are the inevitable trend of future buildings. There have been a large number of studies on nearly zero building technology issues. However, there is no detailed study on how to effectively promote the development of nearly zero-energy consumption buildings according to China’s national conditions. Here, by establishing an evolutionary game model, this paper discusses the dynamic game scheme selection and stability strategy of three stakeholders, namely local government, real estate companies, and construction consumers, related to the development of nearly zero-energy-consumption buildings in the development process. The conditions required for evolutionary stabilization strategies were identified. Finally, Matlab data simulation analysis is used to further illustrate the stability and equilibrium strategies of each subject and the sensitivity analysis of the main influencing factors at various stages in the development process of nearly zero-energy-consuming buildings. The research results show that the government plays a leading role in the early stage of the development of nearly zero-energy consumption buildings, and as the market matures, government intervention gradually withdraws from the market; furthermore, if the cost of supervision is prohibitively high, the government’s willingness to supervise the market will be reduced. This will hinder consumers and developers from choosing nearly zero-energy-consuming buildings and if the penalties and subsidies are too low, it will be meaningless to the evolution of the optimal solution of the three parties. On this basis, targeted promotion programs are established to realize the rapid development of China’s nearly zero-energy-consumption building sector. Our research results can provide important scientific basis for the development of the nearly zero-energy building industry in China.

Spatial restructuring and the logic of industrial land redevelopment in urban China: IV. A case study of jointly redevelopment by multi-actors

Within the inventory era, urban shrinkage characterized by economic decline and space decay has been widely witnessed in China. The modes and trajectories of urban redevelopment have thus become areas of major concern for both policymakers and scholars. Taking the multi-actor participation nature of redevelopment, this paper stemming from the game-theoretical approach demonstrates in empirical terms on two major fronts. First, the redevelopment of industrial land without the transfer of land use right is shown to be deadlocked by the incapacitation of the original land-user and unlocked with the participation of the new developer. Second, the preference of the original land-user to maximize its interests by operating by itself rather than continue to cooperate with the new developer is observed in the post-redevelopment stage. Therein, the entrepreneurial local government acts only as a “mediator” between the two market entities and tends not to directly intervene in their cooperation. Thus that, it is the reasonable distribution of potential benefits or the pricing of different rights in the land property right bundle rather than their definition that matters more for land redevelopment. Because the delineation of land property rights has never been a problem in a mature land market, particularly for stock industrial land.