Resource-intensive Products Research Articles

Structural Integrity, Environmental Sustainability, and Cost-Effectiveness of Fly Ash Bricks

The construction industry and environmental advocates have increasingly focused on sustainable, long-lasting, and cost-effective building materials in modern construction. Clay bricks and concrete, traditional construction materials, are used extensively, but their environmental impact and resource-intensive production processes are raising concerns. Fly ash bricks, created from industrial waste, have emerged as a promising alternative, offering a unique combination of structural integrity, environmental sustainability, and cost-effectiveness, making them an appealing option for the construction industry. Fly ash, a by-product of coal combustion mainly from power plants was previously considered a pollutant and a disposal challenge. However, the innovative use of fly ash in brick production has transformed this waste into a valuable resource. As awareness of sustainability and eco-friendly building practices has grown, fly ash bricks have gained widespread recognition as a greener alternative to traditional materials like clay bricks and concrete blocks

Perpendicular magnetic anisotropy in multilayers arising from the interplay of thermal strains and diffusion-driven plastic deformation

Magnetic films with perpendicular magnetic anisotropy (PMA) are the basis for efficient memory-storage and future spintronic devices. PMA predominantly stems from surface effects, e.g., symmetry reduction, at the magnetic-layer interface and quickly decays with increasing layer thickness. Strong PMA is thus typically observed in sub-nanometer multilayers with alternating magnetic and noble metals. Using in-situ temperature-dependent measurements of ferromagnetic resonance it is demonstrated that strong PMA can be achieved in Si/Ni multilayers with individual layer as thick as 16 nm. Here, PMA is imposed by thermal strains acting via magnetoelastic coupling and directly depends on the annealing temperature and time, which regulate the diffusion-driven plastic deformation. This opens a way to PMA-film fabrication that avoids complex and resource-intensive production of atomically thin multilayers.

Recent advances in nano-modified concrete: Enhancing durability, strength, and sustainability through nano silica (nS) and nano titanium (nT) incorporation

Concrete, essential to global infrastructure, confronts urgent environmental challenges due to its high carbon footprint and resource-intensive production. In response, researchers are exploring nanoparticles, such as nano-silica (nS) and nano-titanium dioxide (nT), to enhance sustainability and performance. This review examines recent advances in their application. Nano-silica, prized for rapid hydration and enhanced strength, emerges as a promising additive. Studies indicate nS accelerates cement hydration, densifies the matrix, and improves durability and impermeability. Silica-based nano-coatings on glass textile-reinforced composites bolster bond strength and resilience. Similarly, nT offers diverse benefits to concrete. Beyond its traditional applications in photocatalysis, nS has been proven to refine pore structure, increase compressive strength, and enhance resistance to elevated temperatures. Additionally, nT adds to the self-cleaning properties of concrete surfaces, making it a promising additive for sustainable construction practices. Despite these advancements, challenges persist in the effective dispersion of nanoparticles within concrete matrices and ensuring their economic feasibility and regulatory compliance. Addressing these challenges will require interdisciplinary collaboration and innovative approaches to optimize dispersion methods, mitigate health risks, and develop robust regulatory frameworks. Future research directions should focus on developing multifunctional nanomaterials capable of imparting multiple desirable properties to concrete simultaneously, such as self-sensing, self-cleaning, and energy harvesting capabilities. Furthermore, efforts to optimize manufacturing processes and scale up production will be essential to realizing the full potential of nano-modified concrete in addressing the sustainability challenges facing the construction industry.

Enhancing Sustainability Through the Partial Replacement of Recycled Aggregates and Rice Husk ASH

Concrete, as one of the most widely used construction materials globally, poses both environmental and economic challenges due to its resource-intensive production and disposal. This study explores sustainable alternatives by investigating the incorporation of recycled aggregates (RA) and rice husk ash (RHA) as partial replacements for conventional aggregates and cement, respectively. Recycled aggregates, obtained from demolished structures, help reduce the depletion of natural resources and landfill waste. This study evaluates the mechanical properties, durability and workability of concrete mixes with varying proportions of recycled aggregates, providing insights into the optimal blend for achieving structural integrity. Rice husk ash, a waste product from rice milling, has pozzolanic properties that enhance the performance of concrete. By partially replacing cement with RHA, this research aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions during cement production while improving the overall durability of concrete. The study assesses the compressive strength, water permeability, and resistance to chemical attacks of RHA- blended concrete mixes. The results demonstrate the economic benefits of utilizing these sustainable materials are discussed, emphasizing the need for a balanced approach that considers both environmental and economic factors.

Green PLM: business goals-oriented algorithm assessing the greenness of a product in the new product development phase for the automotive industry

AbstractSustainability-oriented new product development process is becoming of key importance in many sectors of the industry. Especially in the automotive industry, it plays a major role as this sector is historically associated with resource-intensive production and fossil fuel consumption, and thus has to implement solutions that will contribute to restraint of climate change. Manufacturing companies are currently faced with the challenge of adapting their business models to changing market expectations and requirements resulting from the sustainable development path. Moreover, the development of the new digital factories and pressure from the legislators require adjustment of existing Product Lifecycle Management systems. To enhance the concept of the Green Product Lifecycle Management which is still under development, in this work we propose a new three-step methodology composed of three main steps: (1) assessing indicators’ importance for sustainable business goals and business models, (2) assessing indicators and their importance in the automotive industry, (3) assessing “greenness” of the product. This complex approach is innovative as it is based on the business-oriented perspective. Selecting suitable business goals and corresponding business models leads to the selection of the appropriate subset of green indicators. Several more aspects are taken into account in this holistic analysis: the indicator's features, relevance for the company, importance to sustainable business goals, importance in terms of subsectors of the automotive industry as well as environmental, economic, and social impact. This approach enables the company to compute the value of the greenness of the product in reference to the key green indicators.

Sustainability performance of Dutch firms and the role of digitalization: The case of textile and apparel industry

The textiles and apparel industry is a major contributor to economic development while at the same time being one of the most polluting industries due to its lengthy supply chain and resource intensive production operations. To address these sustainability challenges, digitalization is seen as one of the potential solutions. Using the lens of sustainability and digitalization in Supply Chain Management (SCM), this paper analyses the sustainability and digitalization status of Dutch textile and apparel firms. We used a mixed methodology of quantitative text mining of 94 Dutch textile and apparel firms as well as qualitative thematic and coding analysis of experts’ views and opinions on sustainability and digitalization in the Dutch textiles and apparel industry. Quantitative analysis of website data shows that Dutch textile and apparel firms predominantly communicate the environmental, to a lesser extent social, and least of all economic sustainability factors. Keyword analysis also shows that the use of technological keyword indicators is less prominent, while certain technologies such as IoT, sensors and blockchain correlate mostly to environmental sustainability factors. Moreover, qualitative analysis reveals that to address sustainability via digitalization, it is important to link sustainability goals to Key Performance Indicators, which requires data for traceability. We recommend firms to: (1) re-evaluate their business models and assess the extent traceability can be incorporated in their sustainability strategy; (2) enhance stakeholder collaboration within and outside the supply chain to utilize traceability; and (3) proactively use traceability information to improve transparency and accountability to meet legal requirements and address greenwashing. This study contributes to literature by showing the importance of traceability for (a) linking sustainability and digitalization in SCM, b) achieving the ultimate goals of transparency and accountability, and c) predicting demand and supply to address overproduction and waste in the textiles and apparel sector.

Eco-sustainable practices through strategic HRM: A review and framework for SMEs in the creative industries

In recent years, there has been a growing recognition of the importance of eco-sustainable practices in the business world, particularly within the context of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) operating in the creative industries. This review presents a comprehensive review and framework for integrating eco-sustainability into the strategic human resource management (HRM) practices of SMEs in the creative industries. The creative industries, encompassing sectors such as design, advertising, fashion, and media, play a significant role in shaping cultural trends and consumer behavior. However, these industries also have a substantial environmental footprint, stemming from resource-intensive production processes, waste generation, and high energy consumption. Recognizing these challenges, there is a growing imperative for SMEs in the creative industries to adopt eco-sustainable practices. Strategic HRM offers a promising approach for integrating eco-sustainability into the core operations of SMEs. By aligning HRM practices with the organization's sustainability goals, SMEs can foster a culture of environmental responsibility and innovation among employees. This review presents a framework that outlines the key dimensions of eco-sustainable HRM, including recruitment and selection, training and development, performance management, and employee engagement. Effective recruitment and selection processes are crucial for attracting individuals who align with the organization's sustainability values. Training and development initiatives can equip employees with the knowledge and skills needed to implement eco-friendly practices in their roles. Performance management systems should include sustainability metrics to evaluate employee contributions to eco-sustainable goals. Additionally, fostering employee engagement through communication, participation, and recognition can enhance commitment to eco-sustainability initiatives. Through the integration of eco-sustainable practices into strategic HRM, SMEs in the creative industries can not only reduce their environmental impact but also gain a competitive edge by appealing to environmentally conscious consumers and investors. This review provides a roadmap for SMEs seeking to navigate the intersection of sustainability and human resource management, ultimately contributing to a more environmentally sustainable future for the creative industries.

Environmental benefits of combined electro-thermo-chemical technology over battery-electric powertrains

Electric vehicles are being promoted worldwide in an attempt to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions and improve air-quality in cities. Yet, alternative propulsion systems could allow meeting climate change and air-quality policy goals while not raising other environmental burdens. This study offers a glimpse into the mobility solutions aside from traditional battery-electric vehicles (BEVs). A feasibility study of the novel combined electro-thermo-chemical (CETC) propulsion technology composed of a fuel-cell (FC), an internal-combustion engine (ICE) and thermochemical recuperation (TCR) of waste heat is performed based on a life-cycle assessment. A comprehensive comparison between the proposed technology and the BEV is conducted across multiple categories of environmental impacts from the stage of manufacturing, through vehicle use and vehicle end-of-life. Our findings showed for the first time that a technology comprising an internal combustion engine can assure a better environmental performance compared to BEV. Moreover, we demonstrate that the climate-change benefits of the suggested CETC technology over BEV are more pronounced when the share of renewable energy use increases. The study results show that the new CETC technology outperforms the battery electric propulsion for the majority of environmental impacts, including climate-change, air-pollution, human-health and ecological impacts by up to 22%, 62%, 60% and 43%, respectively. It is found that the environmental advantages of the CETC technology over the BEV stem mainly from the vehicle manufacturing stage, affected by the BEV's higher weight and resource-intensive production. These encouraging findings call for further examination and research into BEV alternatives, such as the discussed hybrid CETC powertrain. The latter has promising prospects for future implementation in both mobile and stationary applications.

Mineral resources depletion, environmental degradation, and exploitation of natural resources: COVID-19 aftereffects

Mineral resources are essential to our everyday lives but are finite and can be depleted if not managed responsibly. Unfortunately, many natural resources have been exploited and depleted due to unsustainable mining practices and over-consumption. This has led to environmental degradation in many parts of the world, with deforestation, air and water pollution, and soil erosion as expected consequences. This paper explores the impacts of mineral resource depletion and environmental degradation on natural resource uses in China from 1971 to 2018, considering the impact of general government final consumption expenditure from the perspective of COVID-19 aftereffects. Mineral resource depletion is negatively associated with natural resource rents in China. Environmental degradation and economic growth increase natural resource rents, depicting that as resources become scarcer, the rents associated with natural resources also increase. Governments must ensure that regulations are in place to protect the environment, invest in renewable energy sources, and support businesses transitioning from resource-intensive production. These policies will help ensure the environment is protected and resources are used responsibly and sustainably. Research limitations and future directions are discussed.

Resource Wealth: A “Curse” for Labor Rights?

Though a great deal of research has examined the economic and political consequences of natural resource wealth, its implications for labor remain empirically under-examined. In this article, we contend that resource abundance undermines labor rights due to the inelastic demand for resource-intensive products, which serves to insulate these states from internal and external pressures to protect these rights. In addition to this direct linkage, we posit that resource wealth indirectly undercuts labor rights through its adverse impact on civil society and bureaucratic capacity. Examining these linkages across 148 countries for the years 1994–2010, we find that resource wealth has a negative and significant impact on labor rights practices, though not on labor rights laws. Results from a causal mediation analysis show that resource wealth also undermines labor rights through its negative impact on labor organizations and bureaucratic capacity

Consumer-oriented interventions to extend smartphones’ service lifetime

A promising strategy to reduce smartphones' environmental footprint is to increase their service lifetime, thereby reducing the demand for resource-intensive production of new devices. Most of the existing literature focuses on production-oriented measures, such as improving repairability, but what remains missing is a systematic overview of consumer-oriented interventions to extend smartphones' service lifetime. In this study, we applied the consumer intervention mapping approach by systematically identifying consumer decision situations along the smartphone life cycle and interventions that encourage consumers to make smartphone lifetime-extending decisions. We identify two main mechanisms to achieve lifetime extension: retention by increasing the time during which a user keeps a device, and recirculation by passing on a device to an additional user. Altogether, we identified 26 different types of interventions to induce consumers to make smartphone lifetime-extending decisions and structure these according to consumer-influence techniques, e.g., informing consumers about retention/recirculation options and environmental impacts caused throughout device life cycles, persuading consumers by creating emotional attachment, nudging consumers through product labels for secondhand devices, simplifying execution of lifetime-extending decision options through take-back programs, and incentivizing lifetime-extension through buy-back programs. These interventions' success in achieving lifetime extensions and reducing environmental impacts in practice depends on the degree to which they actually extend smartphones' service lifetime and reduce production of new devices (displacement rate), induction and re-spending effects associated with the interventions, and the interventions’ implementation feasibility, which conflicts of interest in the smartphone ecosystem often challenge. • Overview of consumer decision situations that impact smartphones' service lifetime. • Specification of consumer-oriented interventions for smartphone lifetime extension. • Discussion of environmental implications of lifetime-extending interventions.

Integrated optimization design for horizontal well spacing and fracture stage placement in shale gas reservoir

Horizontal well drilling and hydraulic fracturing technologies play an essential role in improving gas recovery from shale reservoirs. However, they are expensive technologies and resource intensive production strategies. Optimization design of horizontal well spacing and fracture stage placement helps in striking a balance between gas production and economic benefits. However, previous researches relied mainly on numerical simulation technique which is computationally expensive and time-consuming. To reduce the computational burden, a novel multi-fidelity support vector regression (MFSVR) surrogate model assisted horizontal well spacing and fracture stage placement integrated optimization method, namely WSF-MFSVR, is proposed in this study. In the WSF-MFSVR method, both low-fidelity (LF) and high-fidelity (HF) numerical simulation models were applied to establish the multi-fidelity (MF) surrogate model so as to lessen the computational burden and guarantee its quality. In order to enhance the evaluation accuracy, the particle swarm optimization (PSO) algorithm was adopted to find the optimal hyper-parameters of the MFSVR model. Two cases with different wells and fracture types based on the shale gas reservoir with Barnett shale properties were employed to verify the WSF-MFSVR method. The results indicated that a combination of 300 H F and 3500 LF samples was the most suitable for establishing the MFSVR model to approximate the numerical simulation model. In terms of computational efficiency, the WSF-MFSVR method was about 50 times faster than the HF numerical simulation model-based method. Furthermore, the relative hyper-area difference (RHD) and overall spread (OS) of the WSF-MFSVR method were similar to that of the HF numerical simulation model-based method. However, the RHD and OS of the WSF-MFSVR method were superior to that of the LF numerical simulation model-based and single-fidelity support vector regression model-assisted methods. The data of these indexes quantitatively showed the superior convergence and diversity of the final optimal solutions obtained by WSF-MFSVR method.

An Electrochemical Process for the Recovery of Metals and High Purity Silicon from Photovoltaic Modules

The increasing number of photovoltaic (PV) panels installed worldwide requires solutions for their disposal at their end-of-life. PV modules contain several valuable metals like copper and silver as well as toxic ones like lead used in solder. Another valuable component are silicon wafers, because of their high purity, which is obtained in energy and resource intensive production processes.Many recycling procedures, however, are downcycling processes that do not recover these components, but rather are based on shredding and landfilling the modules or obtaining only one of those materials. Often, nitric acid is used as leaching agent for the recovery of silver and copper resulting in harmful NOx emissions that necessitate additional gas treatment.We present an alternative electrochemical process by which leaching reagents are generated on boron-doped diamond electrodes as anode material, which are ideal for this task due to their high overpotential for the oxygen evolution reaction. By evaluating different electrolytes, sulfuric acid was found to be suitable by generating peroxydisulfate (S₂O₈²⁻). With its standard redox potential of +2.0 V, it is possible to oxidize rather noble metals like silver.To evaluate the efficiency of the process S₂O₈²⁻ was generated from sulfuric acid in an H-cell setup and the leaching rate of copper, silver and tin was investigated and optimized by varying acid concentration and current density. Efficient leaching of all metals was achieved in 5 M sulfuric acid at 200 mA/cm². The feasibility of the process for real waste streams was demonstrated by disassembling PV modules and leaching busbars and silver coatings from wafers. The complete removal of the metal coatings from the residual wafers was confirmed by EDX.A significant advantage of the process with S₂O₈²⁻ as leaching agent is, that the reaction with metals forms sulfate that can be oxidized again within a cyclic process driven by electricity as displayed in figure 1.Additionally, the metals can be recovered by electrowinning from the etching solution within the same cell. This was demonstrated by recovering Ag, Cu and Sn from sulfuric acid solution. By using potentiostatic conditions it was additionally possible to separate the metals by consecutively plating them in the order of their respective redox potentials. Leached metals from PV waste were recovered electrochemically with 99 % and 88 % yield for Cu and Ag, respectively. Sn could not be plated due to the high amounts of persulfate present in solution, however recovery by precipitation is possible. Pb is obtained as undissolved residue during leaching, due to the extremely low solubility of PbSO4 and PbO2.Aside from the H-cell experiments the generation of S₂O₈²⁻ and electrowinning was successfully investigated in a flow cell setup. This system benefits from a significantly decreased cell voltage making the process more energy efficient and allows easier upscaling towards industrial applications.The presented process is energy efficient as both electrode reactions are utilized and furthermore does not require the continuous addition of chemicals, therefore, making it an eco-friendly and sustainable alternative to conventional recycling methods. Figure 1: Scheme for the cyclic process of peroxydisulfate generation, leaching and electrowinning during the electrochemical recycling of PV waste. Figure 1

Dynamics of export competitiveness of India and China: a study of HS 6-digit manufacturing exports

PurposeThe export competitiveness has only calculated on only two aspects either comparatively advantageous or comparatively disadvantageous products for India or China. There is not any thorough study that has been undertaken for Indian manufacturing sector at a segregated level along with that of China. So, in the light of these shortcomings, the purpose of this study is to analyse the dynamics of export competitiveness of indian manufacturing sector vis-à-vis its emerging counterpart, china in the global market.Design/methodology/approachA modified revealed comparative advantage index has been used in two different phases of 2001–08 and 2010–18 to find the dynamic pattern of manufacturing exports of India and China in the world market.FindingsThe study revealed that India has shown a positive response in increasing its competitive positioned products from low-technology to medium-technology products during the study period. There has been a decline in the competitive positioned products of China and simultaneously China’s threatened product lines have shown an immense increment over the years. Moreover, Indian exports are concentrated to few low-technology and resource-intensive products, that share more than 50% of total exported value for its manufacturing in the global market, whereas, China is much diversified and the exported value is more scattered over its manufactured items.Research limitations/implicationsThe study does not include the factors that impacted the export competitiveness of the sample economies and thus adds a limitation to this study.Originality/valueAs there is very limited research on dynamics of export competitiveness of Indian manufacturing exports at harmonised system 6-digit level with China, this study fulfils the gap.

Coupling Circularity With Carbon Negativity in Food and Agriculture Systems

HighlightsMany technologies required for circularity have the added benefit of carbon negativity.Precision agriculture, soil carbon sequestration, and biorefining couple circularity with carbon negativity.Stakeholders from many disciplines are needed to successfully couple circularity with carbon negativity.Abstract. Achieving a circular economy is critical for a sustainable future, particularly in sectors that currently produce resource-intensive products in a linear fashion, such as food and agriculture. At the same time, technologies that remove atmospheric CO2, often referred to as carbon dioxide removal (CDR) or carbon negativity, must be developed and deployed rapidly if we are to avoid the worst effects of climate change. Circularity and CDR are often assessed and discussed independently, even though they are highly intertwined. Innovations to food and agriculture systems are essential to achieving a circular economy and enabling rapid deployment of CDR technologies. We explore critical areas of technology that must undergo rapid innovation (upstream and downstream) to food processing and consumption, namely precision and regenerative agriculture and biorefining, respectively. If implemented at scale, these two areas of technology have the potential to couple circularity with carbon negativity in food production systems. Keywords: Biorefining, Carbon dioxide removal, Circularity, Food and agriculture systems, Precision agriculture, Soil carbon sequestration.

An In-Depth Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) of Lithium-Ion Battery for Climate Impact Mitigation Strategies

Battery energy storage systems (BESS) are an essential component of renewable electricity infrastructure to resolve the intermittency in the availability of renewable resources. To keep the global temperature rise below 1.5 °C, renewable electricity and electrification of the majority of the sectors are a key proposition of the national and international policies and strategies. Thus, the role of BESS in achieving the climate impact mitigation target is significant. There is an unmet need for a detailed life cycle assessment (LCA) of BESS with lithium-ion batteries being the most promising one. This study conducts a rigorous and comprehensive LCA of lithium-ion batteries to demonstrate the life cycle environmental impact hotspots and ways to improve the hotspots for the sustainable development of BESS and thus, renewable electricity infrastructure. The whole system LCA of lithium-ion batteries shows a global warming potential (GWP) of 1.7, 6.7 and 8.1 kg CO2 eq kg−1 in change-oriented (consequential) and present with and without recycling credit consideration, scenarios. The GWP hotspot is the lithium-ion cathode, which is due to lithium hexafluorophosphate that is ultimately due to the resource-intensive production system of phosphorous, white, liquid. To compete against the fossil economy, the GWP of BESS must be curbed by 13 folds. To be comparable with renewable energy systems, hydroelectric, wind, biomass, geothermal and solar (4–76 g CO2 eq kWh−1), 300 folds reduction in the GWP of BESS will be necessary. The areas of improvement to lower the GWP of BESS are as follows: reducing scopes 2–3 emissions from fossil resource use in the material production processes by phosphorous recycling, increasing energy density, increasing lifespan by effective services, increasing recyclability and number of lives, waste resource acquisition for the battery components and deploying multi-faceted integrated roles of BESS. Achieving the above can be translated into an overall avoided GWP of up to 82% by 2040.

Factors affecting fluctuations in China's aquatic product exports to Japan, the USA, SouthKorea, Southeast Asia, and the EU.

Seafood has important health benefits, and the growing demand for aquatic products has stimulated rapid trade development. Using 2000–2018 data from the UN Comtrade Database, this study first introduced the export scale, product structure, and market distribution of China’s aquatic products. Then, using an extended constant market share model, we investigated the factors affecting fluctuations in China’s aquatic product exports to the USA, Japan, South Korea, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), and the European Union (EU). Import demand was found to be the most important factor affecting China’s aquatic product exports. Moreover, China’s export structure and market distribution for aquatic products have become increasingly consistent with global demand. In recent years, China’s aquatic product competitiveness has declined while its market destinations have diversified. Regarding China’s aquatic product types, the main focus has been on labor- and resource-intensive products with low competitiveness. More recently, however, China’s competitiveness of product types 0371 and 0372 (Standard International Trade Classification) has been improving in the world market. To further develop China’s aquatic product exports, policy should aim to maintain the fisheries ecosystem, encourage seafood operators to adopt good practices, increase investment in science and technology, overcome technical barriers to trade, strengthen research on the needs, preferences, and requirements of major importing countries, expand domestic demand, and strengthen international cooperation.

Closing the loop in a circular economy: Saving resources or suffocating innovations?

Policymakers around the world are increasingly embracing the idea of a “circular economy” (CE), an economy built on the principle of reuse of materials and produced goods through recycling, refurbishing, and extended product life. By using less new materials per unit of value added, a CE is considered good for both the environment and the economy. Yet closing the material loop also changes the structure of the economy and the incentives for labor- and resource-productivity enhancing innovations. The overall economic impact is thus not so clear. This paper develops a two-sector endogenous growth model with Schumpeterian innovation, in which the primary sector continuously develops new products and uses primary resources in production, while the secondary sector refurbishes retired products for reuse. We show that increased refurbishing increases short-run consumption, but reduces resource prices (relative to wages) and crowds out the incentives for developing new, possibly less resource-intensive products. If innovations are strongly resource-saving, raising the refurbishing rate leads to a net economic loss.

Performance of large firms in Greece during the unstable period of 2011–2016: lessons from the weak parts of Europe

PurposeThe unprecedented economic crisis in Greece deeply affected entrepreneurship, which was traditionally characterised by low levels of innovation and competitiveness, the dominant presence of micro-sized enterprises and the weak signs of prosperity in large firms. This paper, in acknowledgement of the necessary transformations that production incurred due to the crisis, attempts to detect the characteristics of large manufacturing firms that contributed to their greater resilience during the unstable period of 2011–2016 by analysing the determinants of the higher profitability of firms. The analysis shows that firms that improved their productivity and sales levels and in parallel are flexible, in the sense that they have limited amounts of both assets and liabilities and thus a small risk, are those that presented higher profits during the period under study. Initial conditions, sectoral characteristics and the broader national environment do not seem to have a strong contributive role in firms' profitability.Design/methodology/approachThe analysis follows a dynamic system generalised method of moments (GMM) estimation based on a panel data set of 125 Greek large firms over the time span 2011–2016.FindingsThe analysis shows that firms that improve their productivity and sales levels and in parallel are flexible, in the sense that they have a limited amount of both assets and liabilities and thus a small risk, are those that present higher profits during the period under study. Initial conditions, sectoral characteristics and the broader national environment do not seem to have a strong contributive role in firms' profitability.Research limitations/implicationsThe present paper attempts to explain the performance of the most dynamic large manufacturing firms in Greece by investigating the role of some of the most important determinants of firm profitability (according to data availability), acknowledging, however, some analysis' limitations as the absence of some other parameters like the export activity or the incorporation of any innovative features in the firmsOriginality/valueThe novelty of this paper lies in two points. First, the subject of the analysis is the large firms in Greece, which have not received much attention as Greek entrepreneurship was traditionally based on the light, labour- or resource-intensive production and the main bulk of the literature was not on that topic. Second, during the deep and protracted crisis that Greece has experienced, several production transformations have taken place that remain partly undiscovered. The present paper attempts to analyse the characteristics of large firms that drove their profitability and improved their resilience during the crucial time period 2011–16.

Increasing the efficiency of rice production through the introduction of resource-saving technologies on the example of rice systems in Krasnodar Territory

Rice cultivation is the most resource-intensive production in the Russian agro-industrial sector. Historically, the technology of flooded rice cultivation in thу Krasnodar Territory has remained virtually unchanged for more than 90 years. This is due not only to the biological but also to the technological features of its cultivation. In this connection, the issue of optimizing the production process of rice cultivation is becoming increasingly important every year. Global experience in rice cultivation has determined a further direction of research on optimizing rice cultivation technologies, namely the development of a resource-saving technology for drip irrigation of rice. The pioneering research done by domestic scientists to test drip irrigation of rice in Russia has proved the feasibility and effectiveness of their use. This article proposes a modern resource-saving drip irrigation project for rice, which was tested in OOO “Chernoerkovskoe” in the Slavyanskiy District of the Krasnodar Territory. The authors have proved the efficiency of the proposed rice cultivation technology, resulting in the reduction of irrigation norm, material, labour, energy and technical-technological resources in rice production and crops of rice rotation. The introduction of the new technology has improved not only the biometric indicators of rice, but also the ameliorative condition of soils. Drip irrigation technology makes it possible to cultivate rice outside the rice irrigation systems on land previously used for rain-fed agriculture, which will increase not only the potential area under rice cultivation, but also the geography of rice cultivation in Russia.