Compliance Strategies Research Articles

Individual Experiences of Surveillance: Attitudes towards Camera Surveillance in Slovakia

After the fall of the communist regime, Slovakia saw the introduction and subsequent rapid growth of camera surveillance, particularly around the turn of the millennium. These developments occurred in a specific political, cultural, and historical context, which affects perceptions of and reactions to surveillance by individual citizens. The post-communist context is characterised by relatively low levels of resistance to the introduction of various technological surveillance mechanisms, including the rapid introduction of Closed-Circuit Television (CCTV) in public spaces. However, individuals who are under surveillance (surveilled subjects) are not passive. They are aware of the surveillance and its mechanisms, they interact with the surveillance devices, and they self-manage their digital image in various surveillance contexts. Using semi-structured qualitative interviews this article examines experiences of and individual attitudes towards the camera surveillance of Slovak citizens against the wider backdrop of the characteristics of post-communist surveillance culture. It is based on an analysis of individual stories of attitudes towards and personal experiences with CCTV in private, semi-private, and public places. The analysis of individual-level interactions reveals that citizens are aware of the presence of cameras and react to them in various ways, ranging from compliance and various strategies of negotiation with surveillance systems right up to some forms of resistance.

What helps and hinders doctors in engaging in continuous professional development? An explanatory sequential design.

Licensure and registration are the traditional approaches to ensure minimally acceptable standards of care for practice. However, due to advances in medical technology and changes in clinical practice, the knowledge and skills obtained from basic education and training may rapidly become out of date. There is no mandated, structured and ongoing mechanism to assess all doctors' competence in Hong Kong. This paper assessed doctors' perceived needs for continuous professional development, and to identify facilitators and barriers that are likely to influence the implementation of compulsory continuous professional development for maintaining professional competence and ensuring patient safety. An explanatory sequential mixed method design with two distinct interactive phases was adopted comprising a postal self-administered questionnaire survey among a random sample of 2,459 of doctors (Phase 1), followed by individual interviews of a stratified sample of 30 questionnaire respondents for the subsequent qualitative analysis (Phase 2). The majority of doctors (over 90%) agreed the importance of continuous professional development to update knowledge and skills. However, just 30.7% of non-specialists compared with 65.4% of specialists agreed it would be desirable for continuous professional development to be a requirement for renewal of licenses. A relatively higher percentage of non-specialists compared with specialists reported barriers to participation such as accessibility, availability and relevance of the content of the programmes. Facilitators for uptake included more convenient schedule and location, relevant content, and incentives for participation such as making this a pre-condition for enrolling in government-funded services. To address the needs of individual doctors, the spheres of practice, personal preferences and learning styles should be considered in deciding the content and processes of continuous professional development. Flexibility is also an important principle. A learning model, incentives for participation and a compliance strategy (instead of deterrence) could be effective strategy for continuous professional development.

Contextualizing Political Strategies

We examine firms’ selection of political strategies. Building on institutional theory, we develop a conceptual understanding of how firms select particular political strategies depending on the institutional and political quality of the contexts of countries. Specifically, we propose that in contexts with high institutional and political quality, firms are more likely to select the engaged political strategies of information, constituency-building, or financial incentive, traditionally discussed in the literature. In contrast, in contexts with low institutional and political quality, firms are more likely to use either bribery and state capture, or the non-engaged political strategies of low visibility, rapid compliance, reconfiguration, and anticipation. Moreover, in contexts with high institutional but low political quality, firms are more likely to select the information strategy. Finally, in contexts with low institutional but high political quality, firms are more likely to use either the information and constituency-building strategies, or bribery and state capture. By focusing on the contexts of countries, our model goes beyond traditional attention to engaged and legal political strategies, incorporating not only non-engaged but also illegal strategies among the options available to firms. We contribute to political strategies and institutional research by offering a contextualization of the selection of political strategies.

When Do Firms Choose Substantive Over Symbolic Compliance with Board Gender Quotas?

This study assesses whether and when the firms choose to use symbolic or substantive compliance strategies in response to exogenous shocks in their institutional environment. We theorize that the joint effect of a quota target for women on boards and the quality of the firm’s performance is such that firms with a high distance to the country’s quota target and are satisfied (v. dissatisfied) with their financial performance are more likely to use symbolic (v. substantive) compliance. While institutional theorists have often noted the use of symbolic compliance, ours is one of the first studies to provide conditions under which firms are more likely to prefer one or the other form of compliance. Further, by highlighting the preference of female CEOs for substantive compliance in all scenarios, we provide boundary conditions on institutional theory predictions. We contribute to literatures on institutional theory, behavioral theory and gender diversity on corporate boards.

Stability analysis and optimal control strategies of direct and indirect transmission dynamics of conjunctivitis

This article concerns the S–E–I–R (Susceptible–Exposed–Infected–Recovered) mathematical model formulation describing the dynamics of the spread of conjunctivitis predominant in human host population. The model considered possesses two equilibrium points, namely, the conjunctivitis‐free and conjunctivitis‐present equilibrium, which are dependent on the basic reproduction number (Rco). The local and global stabilities of derived model system were investigated at the equilibrium solutions, and it was found that if Rco < 1, the conjunctivitis‐free equilibrium is both locally and globally asymptotically stable. Also, if Rco > 1, the conjunctivitis‐present equilibrium is globally asymptotically stable. The sensitivity analysis of Rco is performed, and the corresponding graphical results are presented to examine the relative importance of conjunctivitis model parameters as to conjunctivitis prevalence. The model is reformulated by applying control measures of isolation and hygiene compliance to minimize conjunctivitis infection and irritants concentration as well as the cost associated with it. An optimality system is derived and numerically solved with and without controls using the forward–backward Runge–Kutta scheme via computational software MATLAB. The graphical results obtained showed that each of the control strategies has its own importance for conjunctivitis elimination. Further graphical descriptions reveal that the combination of isolation and hygiene compliance strategies are more effective in curtailing conjunctivitis prevalence in human and environmental host community.

Regulatory compliance under enforcement gaps

Analyses in the literature on regulatory enforcement usually assume that regulatory agencies know all of the entities subject to regulation. But constant entry and exit of firms create gaps in agencies’ knowledge of regulated entities. This paper conducts a theoretical and empirical analysis of firms’ compliance strategy when such enforcement gaps are present. Our theoretical analysis indicates that a firm with a sufficiently low probability of being subject to enforcement action will delay compliance. We analyze the effect of enforcement gaps on the compliance protocol development component of regulations empirically in the context of nutrient management regulations in Maryland. The Maryland Department of Agriculture (MDA), which enforces this regulation, relies on a registry of farms that includes less than half of the farm operations in the state. We conduct an econometric analysis using farm-level survey data combined with county-level enforcement data. Our econometric model indicates that the probability of being included in the MDA farm registry is associated with a statistically significant and economically meaningful increase in the probability of being in compliance with nutrient management regulations. This result suggests that enforcement gaps can have a significant effect on the performance of environmental regulations.

Selling and Saving Energy: Energy Efficiency Obligations in Liberalized Energy Markets

In Europe, energy efficiency obligations are imposed on energy retailers competing in liberalized energy markets. They comply by subsidizing energy efficiency investments made by energy end-users from within or outside their customer base. We develop a model describing how competition in the energy market affects compliance strategies. We find that, instead of selecting the most cost-effective investments options, firms may either target their most elastic customers, which enables them to increase their retail price, or their competitor’s customers, which protects their sales. Allowing firms to trade obligations can restore cost-effectiveness, but reduces consumer surplus. Overall, the degree of flexibility that should be incorporated into such programs crucially depends on the degree of heterogeneity across investment costs and the relative weights governments assign to cost-effectiveness and consumer surplus.

Terceirização de portais de transparência fiscal em prefeituras municipais

A terceirização de portais de transparência pode ser um projeto frágil, superficial e suscetível à desatualização dos dados. O artigo explorou como ocorria e os efeitos da terceirização dos portais de transparência. Foi aplicada uma análise qualitativa comparada (Qualitative Comparative Analysis – QCA) em dezesseis prefeituras de um mesmo estado. Essas prefeituras assinaram um Termo de Ajuste de Gestão com o Tribunal de Contas, e como estratégia para atendimento do termo, terceirizaram a implantação dos seus portais de transparência. Nos casos em questão, a integração entre o portal de transparência com sistemas de administração financeira e o registro de eventos orçamentários de forma concomitante à ocorrência, sinalizaram ser decisivos para a preservação da atualização dos dados no portal de prefeituras após cessar período de maior fiscalização.

Smoothing the way for new food businesses

Smoothing the way for new food businesses

Unpacking the complexity of environmental regulatory governance in a globalizing world: a critical review for research agenda setting

ABSTRACT There has been growing complexity in the study of environmental regulatory governance. In terms of regulatory approaches, the focus of national styles has gradually shifted to the local level, down to street-level regulators. As for compliance strategies, regulated entities, particularly enterprises, have moved their strategies from the evasion-compliance dichotomy to more progressive ones that are beyond compliance. As environmental watchdogs on behalf of civil society, ENGOs, particularly those in developing and non-democratic political settings, have increasingly found more space for strategizing their active efforts to monitor enforcement agencies and polluting enterprises in the regulatory process. The spilling of regulatory regimes into developing countries has led to an urgent need for regulatory studies in such nations, with a call for new theoretical formulations that are capable of explaining regulatory governance in those countries. Research methodologies adopted have become increasingly sophisticated, moving from using a single method to using mixed methods by integrating qualitative and quantitative ones, with longitudinal studies and panel data analysis as the recent trends. This study aspires to perform a critical review of the existing body of literature on environmental regulatory governance in these major aspects as the basis for a research agenda setting.

Analysis of firm CSR strategies

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) has become increasingly important. From the perspective of operations management, traditional non-CSR-compliant operations are less costly than CSR compliant operations but may be subject to the risk of being exposed to the public by third-party organizations such as Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) through external scrutiny. This exposure can negatively affect firms’ market share when customers are concerned about firms’ CSR compliance. This paper studies firms’ endogenous CSR compliance strategies, i.e., the incentive to adopt CSR compliant operations. We first consider a single firm's CSR compliance strategies, and then, we extend the analysis to the case of competition. We analyze how exogenous parameters, including the risk of exposure and cost premium, determine equilibrium CSR compliance strategies. We find that CSR compliant operations will be implemented either when the exposure risk is sufficiently high or when the cost premium is sufficiently low. We also discuss how competition affects firms’ CSR compliance strategies and whether firms perform better with CSR compliant operations in equilibrium. Our results show that, by adopting CSR compliant operations, firms will engage in a win-win equilibrium if the external risk is high or if the cost premium is low. Besides, we also conduct the analysis under Bertrand (price) competition. Based on these results, we provide managerial insights into when CSR compliant operations should be adopted in practice and how such adoption affects firms’ performance. Our results also imply that the practice of sustainability requires firms to consider both the external risk of exposure and cost premium.

Enhancing Organizational Compliance Programs: The Impact of Data Protection Implementation under the Personal Data Protection Law

This research aims to address the following question: Is there an intersection between compliance programs and the privacy requirements outlined in the General Data Protection Law (LGPD)? To achieve this objective, the study examines the key legal aspects that directly relate to compliance programs and need to be considered for effective implementation of data protection within a corporate organization, in accordance with Brazilian legislation. The research adopts a deductive method and relies on a thorough analysis of relevant literature.
 The findings of this study demonstrate that compliance programs play a crucial role in guiding ethical guidelines within an organization. Given this, it is concluded that compliance programs should incorporate the legislative parameters outlined in the LGPD into their policies and initiatives. By doing so, organizations can ensure that data protection is effectively addressed, aligning their compliance efforts with the requirements of the law. This integration helps organizations establish robust mechanisms to protect personal data, safeguard privacy, and mitigate the risks associated with non-compliance.
 The research highlights the importance of considering data privacy as an integral part of compliance programs. It emphasizes the need for organizations to adopt a proactive approach by integrating privacy requirements into their compliance frameworks. By aligning compliance programs with the LGPD, organizations can foster a culture of data protection, enhancing trust among stakeholders and promoting a responsible and ethical business environment.
 In conclusion, this study underscores the interdependence between compliance programs and data privacy regulations, specifically the LGPD. It emphasizes the necessity for organizations to incorporate privacy requirements into their compliance strategies, thereby ensuring effective implementation of data protection measures and adherence to legal obligations.

Benefits of Implementing Building Information Modeling (BIM) in Infrastructure Projects

Abstract The construction industry is changing constantly and becoming more complex. It requires new strategies for compliance with national and international scenarios. Developing each project is associated with many limitations, including time, cost, changes, wastes, and errors, which are often not avoidable. Due to numerous project stages and complexities in the construction industry, usually, different mistakes and duplications occur. Meanwhile, Building Information Modeling (BIM) has created one of the most important and essential changes in this industry and results in more in-depth cooperation among project stakeholders. BIM is one of the most recent innovations in the construction industry, which resolves the problems of projects faster. BIM can be applied by architects, engineers, contractors, project managers, etc. to achieve objectives such as reducing design errors, reducing time and cost, improving design and construction integration, and increasing coordination and cooperation among different sections. Given the significance of project success in every country and several problems in each project, using BIM is an appropriate solution, which its proper implementation requires understanding its benefits that is the main aim of this study. This research identifies and classifies these benefits through the Systematic Literature Review (SLR) method, describing the significance of using BIM in infrastructure projects.

A study on the enforcement strategy for safety and health compliance in manufacturing sector in Malaysia

Safety and health aspect should always be part of manufacturing system so that every stage of the manufacturing process and activities will expose no risk to more than a millions workers involved in this sector. In Malaysia, manufacturing sector is under the jurisdiction of Occupational Safety and Health Act 1994 (OSHA) and Factory and Machinery Act 1967 (FMA) which are enforced by the Department of Occupational and Health (DOSH). The objective of the study is to study the enforcement strategy carried out by DOSH officers whether it is persuasive, punitive or combination of both. Persuasion and punishment refer to the type of action taken by the enforcement officers against the errand employers. Making remarks in a log book, giving out directive letters and issuing notices (Notice of Prohibition, NOI and Notice of Improvement, NOP) are considered persuasive whilst opening an investigation paper (IP) for the purpose of offering compound and bringing the matter to court are considered punitive. The study depends on DOSH’s statistic i.e. OSH enforcement activities and action taken by its officers against errand employers during enforcement activities. The statistic shows that DOSH use both persuasion and punishment strategies during occupational safety and health (OSH) enforcement activities, but the use of persuasion is too glaring i.e. as much as 98.5% from the total number of actions taken against errand employers.

Optimal Technology Investment under Emission Trading Policy

Low-carbon economy is gaining growing attention nowadays as global warming intensifies. As a market-based policy, emission trading policy is widely considered an effective means to achieve the doublewin of economic development and environmental protection. Under such circumstances, carbon trading markets are developing rapidly in many countries and regions, demanding more attention to compliance strategy issues for emission-intensive companies. In this study, we build a dynamic programming model in search of the optimal emission trading and technology investment decisions for a make-to-order company faced with a stochastic demand under emission trading policy. After a comprehensive analysis of the proposed model, we find that an optimal emission permit level, which increases in carbon penalty and decreases in carbon price, exists in each period. As for the abatement technology investment decision, the firm should invest only if the investment cost per unit of abatement effort is less than a certain threshold, which increases in carbon penalty and carbon price. On the basis of a two-period dynamic programming model, we further explore the problem of investment timing. Results show how optimal investment decisions are influenced by the speed of technology progress under different parameters. These findings are important for firms to choose the time of investment depending on specific situations.

Returnable Reciprocity: When Optional Gifts Increase Compliance

Classic takes on the norm of reciprocity find that receipt of a gift increases compliance with a later request. We find that giving people the opportunity to return this gift surprisingly increases compliance rates, a phenomenon we call “returnable reciprocity”. Across four studies (N = 3,786), we find evidence that returnable reciprocity leads to greater compliance in a large-scale field experiment (Study 1), as well as in conceptual lab replications (Studies 2 and 3) involving different domains. We provide evidence that this increased compliance may be due to increased feelings of guilt for non-compliance (Study 3). Finally, we find that while the economic cost of returnable reciprocity is negligible, it may create additional psychological or societal costs that must be taken into account when assessing its social welfare implications (Study 4). We end by discussing the theoretical, practical and social welfare implications of this novel compliance strategy.

The European Commission goes ‘cloud first’: A roadmap towards trusted cloud adoption to seize the opportunities of digital transformation for EU institutions and agencies

Cloud computing is likely to be taken up extensively by governmental organisations in the coming years, including the European Commission (EC), Parliament, Council and other EU institutions (EUIs), as well as EU executive or decentralised agencies and other EU bodies.1 On 21st November, 2018, the EC adopted a digital strategy (ECDS) with the double objective to transform the Commission into a user-focused and data-driven organisation. Building on the conclusions of the Tallinn Digital Summit in September 2017, this strategy recognised the need for the public sector to seize the opportunities offered by digital technologies and to accelerate the completion of the digital single market. Realising that cloud computing is already transforming the way to deliver state-of-the-art public services globally, the EC ambitions to become a data-driven administration by 2022. Digital strategy aims at a broad adoption of cloud computing by 2022, working closely with other EUIs and member states. This objective is framed by a cloud strategy for the EC. The main purpose of this paper is to provide the readers with a detailed analysis of the approach to information technology security taken by the European Commission’s Directorate General for Informatics (DIGIT) under its cloud strategy and by other EUIs in their cloud adoption. The adoption of cloud computing by EUIs takes place against the dual background of increasing pressure to become digitally enabled and a reinforced regulatory framework on personal data protection and information security. A common approach to cloud consumption will enable common strategies for compliance with legal requirements. The adoption of cloud computing by the EUIs also unfolds within a highly structured public procurement framework. DIGIT is planning to work within this framework using dynamic procurement models, which will enable access to a fast-evolving cloud computing market. Building on the experience of the first cloud framework contract (Cloud I), DIGIT is coordinating the preparation of the Cloud II framework contract to enable access for EUIs to the global market of cloud providers from 2020. With DIGIT serving as a broker, we will explore the challenges and opportunities that the European Commission is facing on its digital transformation path. This paper explains some of the lessons that the EUIs have learned from cloud experiments, from 2014 on through the Cloud I.

Coping with stalking and harassment victimization: Exploring the coping approaches of young male and female adults in Hong Kong

PurposeMost stalking studies have been conducted on Western samples. Little is known about victims of stalking and harassment outside the Western Hemisphere generally, and victim coping approaches have so far gone unexamined within populations of Asian victims.MethodsUsing a sample of 198 self‐reported victims of stalking or harassment drawn from a large sample of university students (N = 2,496) aged between 18 and 40, this study explores the incidence of these phenomena and the gendered distribution of different coping methods (i.e., avoidant, proactive, passive, compliance, and aggressive).ResultsA total of 7.9% of respondents reported experience of stalking or harassment in their lifetime, and the incidence of various stalking behaviours is reported. In general, passive (or moving away) and avoidant (or moving inward) approaches were the most frequently reported victim coping approaches, while compliance (or moving towards or with) was the least employed coping strategy. Males were considerably more likely than females to employ compliance and aggressive coping strategies. Multivariate analyses indicate that females were less likely to adopt a proactive coping approach, while all victims were more likely to employ the aggressive, proactive, and compliance approaches if they had been targeted for more than a month.ConclusionsThese findings show that experiences of stalking or harassment were not uncommon among the sample and that the type of victim coping approach was in part influenced by victim demographics and by stalking dynamics.

Student Tobacco Use Behaviors on College Campuses by Strength of Tobacco Campus Policies.

To examine the association between strength of policy and self-reported tobacco use behavior, controlling for demographic characteristics, polytobacco use, knowledge of campus tobacco policy, and perceived policy compliance by others. Cross-sectional, online survey. Ten participating State University of New York (SUNY) campuses; 5 with designated smoking/tobacco use areas and 5 with 100% tobacco-free policies. Convenience sample of students from SUNY campuses: only tobacco users (N = 576 students) included for analysis. Items assessing tobacco use behaviors on campus, policy knowledge, and observation of others using tobacco on campus. T tests and chi-square tests of association used to compare responses between tobacco users across campuses. Generalized estimating equations modeling used to evaluate predictors of tobacco use on campus; model estimated with students nested within campus. Those on campuses without a comprehensive policy were more likely to report (in the past week) having seen others smoke on campus (98% vs 69%, P < .001), having personally smoked on campus (65% vs 36%, P < .001), and seeing others use tobacco products on campus (88% vs 67%, P < .001), compared to those on tobacco-free campuses. Tobacco-free campus policies provide numerous protective factors for tobacco users and nonusers. However, compliance strategies are imperative for intended policy success.

A Comparative Study on SECA Compliance Options for Maritime Fuel Producers

In January 2015, the Sulphur Emission Control Areas (SECA) regulations changed so that ships that ply the Baltic Sea and the North Sea can no longer use bunker fuel that exceeds 0.1 per cent v/v of sulphur. Many changes have been seen in the maritime sector, especially in the Baltic Sea region (BSR). From studies, the impact is still somewhat negative for some maritime stakeholders, such as small-scale fuel producing companies who must produce fuel that complies with the SECA requirements. The impact analysis of their compliance options shows that hydrodesulphurisation (HDS) option is the most viable option with a commensurable investment return rate, but it is highly risky and expensive considering the incessant plummeting of fuel price and the financial status of such companies. However, even though the situation looks bleak for the small-scale maritime fuel producers, a deeper probe revealed a chance for exceptional opportunities for growth and profit through a change of business model to the maritime energy-contracting model (MEC). The study zooms in on a case study of a fuel producing company and empirically compares the operating costs of the MEC model (as a decentralised option) and the HDS process (as a centralised option) to determine which option will be most economically worthwhile if adopted as a SECA compliance strategy to ensure a rounded and robust choice-making process for maritime stakeholders in such situations.