Utility Sector Research Articles

Testing the directional predictability between carbon trading and sectoral stocks in China: New insights using cross-quantilogram and rolling window causality approaches

Carbon trading is a market-based instrument to regulate industrial carbon footprints that affects other financial markets. The preliminary test of this study reveals that a wide variety of nonlinearities exist in carbon trading and stock market data, indicating that an investigation of asymmetric behavior is imperative to explore the complex relationship. This study applies cross-quantilogram, and rolling window causality approaches to investigate the asymmetric dependence structure and directional predictability from the carbon trading market to the stock market in China from aggregate and sectoral perspectives. The overall results confirm negative (positive) directional predictability from carbon trading price (CTP) to stock market prices in bull (bear) market conditions. Nevertheless, the dependence structure between variables varies substantially across sectors, with technology, industrial, financial, utility, and material sectors responding more strongly at higher quantiles. The results imply that lower CTP (bear markets) encourage firms' production, revenue, and stock prices, whereas higher CTP (bull markets) lead to higher production costs, generating lower output, lower profitability, and, finally, a reduction in stock prices. The results also reveal that any change in CTP distinctly affects stock market indices and the magnitude and direction of causality changes across lag structures. These findings suggest that carbon trading and stock markets are well integrated and require an inclusive policy design to promote sustainable growth.

Wearable Biosensors in the Workplace: Perceptions and Perspectives.

ObjectivesWearable body and brain sensors are permeating the consumer market and are increasingly being considered for workplace applications with the goal of promoting safety, productivity, health, and wellness. However, the monitoring of physiologic signals in real-time prompts concerns about benefit and risk, ownership of such digital data, data transfer privacy, and the discovery and disclosure of signals of possible health significance. Here we explore the perceptions and perspectives of employers and employees about key ethical considerations regarding the potential use of sensors in the workplace.MethodsWe distributed a survey developed and refined based on key research questions and past literature to a wide range and size of industries in British Columbia, Canada. Both employers (potential Implementers) and employees (potential Users) were invited to participate.ResultsWe received 344 survey responses. Most responses were from construction, healthcare, education, government, and utilities sectors. Across genders, industries, and workplace sizes, we found a convergence of opinions on perceived benefit and concern between potential Implementers and potential Users regarding the motivation to use biosensors in the workplace. Potential Implementers and Users also agreed on issues pertaining to safety, privacy, disclosure of findings of possible medical significance, risks, data ownership, data sharing, and transfer of data between workplaces. The greatest variability between potential Users and Implementers pertained to data ownership.ConclusionStrong agreement in the perception of biosensor use in the workplace between potential Implementers and Users reflects shared interest, motivation, and responsibility for their use. The use of sensors is rapidly increasing, and transparency about key use factors–both practical and ethical–is essential to maintain the current and desirable level of solidarity.

ДОСЛІДЖЕННЯ ВПЛИВУ СИСТЕМИ УПРАВЛІННЯ ЗНАННЯМИ ПРОЄКТНОЇ ДІЯЛЬНОСТІ ПІДПРИЄМСТВА НА УСПІШНУ РЕАЛІЗАЦІЮ ПРОЄКТІВ ІЗ ВИКОРИСТАННЯМ НЕЧІТКОЇ ЛОГІКИ

In the article, an economic-mathematical model is developed, which allows to evaluate the impact of the knowledge management system of the enterprise's project activities on the successful implementation of projects (PS). The following component systems of knowledge management of project activities of the enterprise are offered: project knowledge management (PKM), knowledge management between projects (KMaP) and knowledge management of project management (KMaP). PKM includes indicators: People, Technologies, Processes (formation and preservation of knowledge; generation and preservation of knowledge; exchange and use of knowledge). KMaP includes indicators: organizational aspect (availability of project management office; type of organizational structure; interaction environment of participants of different groups (project teams)); technical aspect (availability of a single information and communication platform); social aspect (the presence of an atmosphere of interaction and motivation of team members to share knowledge). KMaP is represented by a comprehensive assessment of the level of formation of areas of project management knowledge. The model is built using fuzzy logic, namely Mamdani fuzzy logic, because the input information is qualitative in nature. The implementation of the proposed model includes the following stages: determination of the indicators of the knowledge management system of project activity for the study of its influence on the success of the project and the formation of a logical conclusion tree; description of linguistic variables; definition of functions belonging to linguistic terms; formation of the knowledge base of the fuzzy inference system; construction of a mathematical model; construction of a fuzzy model for assessing the impact of the knowledge management system of project activities on the success of projects using the Fuzzy Logic Toolbox and analysis of the obtained results. The research was carried out for the project-oriented enterprise of the utility sector of Ukraine, Khmelnitskteplokomuninergo. It was established that with the available input values ​​of the indicators in 2020, the probability of successful project implementation is 61.60%. The relationship (degree dependence) between the probability of successful project implementation and the efficiency indicator - electricity consumption by the enterprise for the period 2016-2020 was revealed. In order to reduce the consumption of electricity at the enterprise to the level of 9,200 thousand kWh, it is necessary to increase the probability of successful implementation of the project to the level of 75.06%. To achieve this indicator level, it is necessary to increase the People indicator to the level of 10 points; level of exchange and use of knowledge - up to the level of 5 points; KMaPM - up to the level of 8 points; to create a structural division "Project Management Office", which, as a result, will lead to a PS indicator level of 75.10%.

Оценка жизненного цикла интеллектуальных устойчивых городов

Introduction. The problem of the life cycle-based assessment of cities (LC), involving systems of indicators for a smart sustainable city, is relevant. The objectives of the study include the review and analysis of existing LC-based methods in construction, housing and utilities sector (HUS), the review and analysis of systems of indicators, evaluation frameworks, benchmarking systems that exist both in the format of standards and are proposed as research developments, the review of the software used for the assessment of the LC of facilities in construction and HUS, the review of open-access databases for the LC assessment of construction and HUS, drafting a thematic plan for the training course “Life Cycle Assessment for Sustainable Cities”. Materials and methods. Research articles in indexed journals, standards, guidelines, and specifications were used. The search was performed using the following databases: eLIBRARY.RU, Google Scholar, Scopus, ScienceDirect, ISI Web of Knowledge, researchgate.net, standards.ru, iso.org, shop.bsigroup.com. The key words, used to search for the information, include life cycle assessment (LCA), smart sustainable cities, city assessment, sustainability assessment, environmental assessment, environmental impact, sustainability indicators, construction, housing and utilities sector (HUS). Results. A sample thematic plan for the training course titled “The life cycle assessment of sustainable cities” was developed on the basis of the analysis of the sources and the systematization of the information thus obtained. Conclusions. The research and its results show that the problem of LC-based assessment of cities, involving the use of indicator systems for smart sustainable cities, has many solutions. The goal, which was to accumulate, analyze and use the information in the training course, has been achieved. Of particular practical interest are the LCA software tools available in construction and HUS. Of great importance for the LCA are open-access databases focused on construction and HUS.

Economic policy uncertainty and stock market sector time-varying spillover effect: Evidence from China

This paper investigates the volatility spillover effect among the Chinese economic policy uncertainty index, stock markets, gold and oil by employing the time-varying parameter vector autoregressive (TVP-VAR) model. Three main results are obtained. Firstly, the optional consumption, industry, public utility and financial sectors are systemically important during the sample period. Secondly, among the four policy uncertainties, the uncertainty of fiscal policy and trade policy contributes more to the spillover effect, while the uncertainty of monetary policy and exchange rate policy contributes less to the spillover effect. Thirdly, during COVID-19, oil spillovers from other sources dropped rapidly to a very low point, it also had a significant impact on the net volatility spillover of the stock market. This paper can provide policy implication for decision-makers and reasonable risk aversion methods for investors.

Information entropy and ranking of IBOVESPA companies

This study analyzes the weights of multidimensional performance indicators to determine the ranking of the companies listed in Bovespa index. This is a quantitative research using the multicriteria data entropy method, in which the indicators of the environmental, social, governance, economic-financial and market dimensions were obtained through the Refinitiv Eikon database. Thus, it was possible to establish the indicators weights for each year in order to determine the rankings of the companies at sector and general level. The environmental innovation variable was responsible for the greater information relevance, while the indicators such as return on net worth and financial leverage obtained the lowest weights. As for the ranking, Renner occupied the first place, which makes it possible to infer that this company has been standing out in the indicators portrayed with higher weight. In addition, the communication and public utility sectors presented the highest mean scores, while the health and energy segments had the lowest mean performances. These results indicate the relevance of providing corporate information to reach investors, increasingly concerned with good management practices and socio-environmental indicators. Moreover, the findings suggest that innovating on environmental issues does not consist of a priority for the companies in the sample, raising the question whether these organizations visualize the legitimacy or returns of successful innovations as rewards of the investments made. Research contributes by pointing out that companies with best environmental practices can obtain more benefits, as well as the society, before the quality of life and environmental preservation.

Exploring Communication and Networks Using Social Network Analysis

Programme management’s importance is increasing, particularly in the public sector, because of government promotion of PM. However, its novelty means PM is an under-researched organizational form.This is particularly the case with the application studied here of PM for asset management in the utility sector with its unique setting of a heavily-regulated monopoly.This study focuses on an asset management programme that comprises a utility company and its eight contractor partners, and explores how communication networks are influenced by organizational affiliation, seniority, technical nature of the work and geographical proximity. Social network analysis is used in a participative, cross-sectional study of communication networks.The study reveals that association with technical work content has a noteworthy influence on the individual’s positioning in the communication network.

Empirically Investigating the Disclosure of Nonfinancial Information: A Content Study on Corporations Listed in the Saudi Capital Market

This study empirically assesses the disclosure of nonfinancial information in corporate reporting. In examining the contents of annual and board reports for 50 listed corporations, a coding sheet was developed by combining the two coding sheets of Boshnak and the European Directive 2014/95/EU. All corporations in three sectors—energy, utilities, and materials, which collectively represents 85.51% of the Saudi market capitalization—encompass the sample. Results reveal that employees, community, and products and services information have a moderate disclosure level. In contrast, environmental, customers, and fighting corruption have a low level. The findings also show that nonfinancial disclosure of the selected sectors on average range between 28.85% for the corporations in the material sector to 39.22% for the corporations in utilities sector. The corporations in the energy sector scored, on average, 37.65%. The mean for the entire sample of the ratios of disclosed nonfinancial items is 30.35%. However, the average disclosure level is without substantial improvement since 2012 and 2013, as previously reported The Capital Market Authority (CMA) is recommended to mandate nonfinancial information disclosure. It is a step toward realization aspects of Saudi Vision 2030 concerning with, for instance, protecting environment and other related matters.

A new hope: A holistic framework for understanding workplace experience

This paper introduces a novel conceptual framework to holistically consider workplace and its intrinsic organisational value. The framework recognises ‘workplace’ as a polyseme, a single word that has multiple associated meanings, and embraces (rather than refutes) its plural spatial, technological and cultural interpretations, alongside interrelated business impacts. To substantiate the framework, this paper reprises and synthesises seminal workplace-related models, including Trist and Bamforth’s ‘sociotechnical systems’ and Becker and Steele’s ‘workplace ecosystem’, among others. Consequently, this paper explores how the framework provides a new opportunity to consider ‘workplace experience’, and offers an ontology to substantively understand, evaluate and potentially even benchmark workplace experience holistically, for diverse and distributed organisational workplaces, making its utility both work location and sector agnostic. The framework therefore not only broadens the scope for workplace insights and decision making, but it also offers a basis from which to critique other assertions or claims of truth about workplace and workplace experience. While the immediate audience for this paper — readers of this journal — will most likely be invested in physical workplace elements first and foremost, the framework promotes collaborative opportunities through wider appreciation and understanding of different workplace perspectives, as well as their interconnectedness and interdependencies. The paper concludes with suggested opportunities and further areas for research and development.

Solid municipal waste treatment problems and responsible consumption in a green economy

Improving the life quality of the Russian Federation population is especially relevant in the green economy in general, in the housing and communal utilities sector (further HCUS), in particular, and in the process of solving the problem of solid municipal waste (further SMW) management, in particular. The transition to a green economy is also based on responsible consumer behavior, which is an urgent and difficult task, since the theoretical and methodological basis of research is still being formed here. The purpose of the study is to identify the key problems of SMW circulation and identify the main problems of responsible consumption in the green economy. Research methods: analysis of domestic and foreign authors’ works on the stated problems; surveys of the population and experts; correlation and qualimetric analysis. Issues considered: (1) HCUS, regulatory support for responsible consumption and the problem of SMW circulation in the green economy; (2) the attitude of the population to SMW and the problems of modeling responsible consumption in the green economy. It is revealed that both abroad and in Russia there is a growing attention from the state and society to responsible consumption. It is shown that the majority of respondents noted the high efficiency of the national project "Ecology" activities. It is expected that in the very near future the business will be forced to introduce environmental standards and environmental management, create "clean" technologies, recycle and dispose of waste. The attitude of the population to SMW was studied based on the model of the individual's pro-ecological behavior: (1) identification of the behavior to be changed; (2) study of the main indicators influencing this behavior; (3) development and application of intervention tools to change behavior and reduce environmental impact; (4) evaluation of the results of the intervention. It is revealed that in Russia there is an insufficiently high level of environmental education of the population, which is associated with indicators of quality of life. The most effective ways to stimulate responsible consumption are social marketing activities and the implementation of economic tools to encourage and punish consumers.

The Impact of Oil Price Fluctuations on Consumption, Output, and Investment in China’s Industrial Sectors

This paper aims to simulate and evaluate the impacts of increases and decreases in oil price on industrial sectors in China. We develop an oil-economy computable general equilibrium (OE-CGE) model with crude oil as an important factor in production. The transmission mechanism of crude oil price swings to various industrial sectors is described in the model. We calibrate parameters in the model parameters using input-output data. In addition, we simulate the rise and fall of oil prices in the model and assess the impact of crude oil prices on various industrial sectors. The results show that crude oil price changes have the greatest impact on the output and consumption of crude oil and gas extraction products sector, crude oil refined coke products, and processed nuclear fuel products sector. The investment of public utilities sector is the most sensitive to changes in crude oil price. When the price of crude oil changes, its investment drops significantly. Crude oil price stability is extremely important for investment and output stability in all sectors.

The Influence of Regulatory Oversight on Environmental, Social, and Governance Ratings

Firm performance in the specific areas of environmental stewardship, social responsibility, and corporate governance (ESG) has become an important criterion that investors use in determining a firm’s value. This empirical investigation, based on stakeholder theory examines the relationship between regulatory oversight and third-party ESG ratings. Our research methodology involved quantitative, observational, and retrospective analyses. The study population consisted of 471 firms from two heavily regulated industry sectors—the utility and financial sectors—and from two less regulated sectors—the information technology and consumer discretionary sectors. We compiled the ESG ratings for the firms from two independent rating services. The quantitative evaluation included multiple regression analysis and multiway frequency analysis. The findings show a statistically significant difference for firms in heavily regulated sectors compared to the ratings for firms in less regulated sectors for the environmental and governance component ratings. This study provides information to help stakeholders recognize the influence of regulation on ESG ratings and explains to investors and company leaders why ESG ratings vary among different industry sectors. This study was limited to four specific sectors but may provide insights applicable to other sectors based on regulatory intensity.

Utility Resilience and the Pandemic's Influence.

Key TakeawaysFour utility leaders discussed realities for their utilities one year into the COVID‐19 pandemic, highlighting key adaptive mechanisms and the long view of their road ahead.The pandemic provides an introspective mirror for utilities to assess their inherent strengths and vulnerabilities, but also to define and communicate proactive and adaptive best practices.In the utility sector, decisions of the past dictate the feasible range of responses in the present, and lessons learned today shape potential long‐term resilience.

PTI: Coping with the COVID-19 crisis from a resource-based view

Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are suffering heavily from the Covid-19 pandemic. Pincode Telenet International (PTI) is a small company providing software solutions to the utility sector in the Netherlands. Its revenue depends entirely on outsourcing contracts given by utility providers. When the market environment is disrupted by the Covid-19 outbreak and its lasting impact, PTI is confronted with a 35% drop in revenue and many uncertainties. This case illustrates how PTI copes with uncertainties by focusing on one certainty: the available resources. The resource-based coping strategy presented in this case engages students to reflect on how different resources can be used to strengthen collaborations and expand a customer base. It thus advances our understanding of opportunity recognition and entrepreneurial behaviour in times of crisis.

Do Corporate Social Responsibilities Support Its Financial Performance? Evidence of the Listed Firms in Vietnam

In the latest decades, corporate social responsibilities (CSR) are incrementally noticed in emerging countries regarding to the surge of globalization and the advance of social concerns. However, there exist opposing arguments on how CSR practices influence a firm’s financial performance (CFP), either in theoretical or empirical perspectives, causing many managers’ hesitation in CSR engagement. This study, therefore, examines the impacts of CSR on CFP, considering the individual effect of each CSR endeavor by using the data from listed firms’ financial statements during the period 2015-2019 and panel regression analysis methods. The findings reveal inconstant effects of different CSR activities on CFP. Specifically, a firm’s fulfillment of shareholders’ and customers’ interests contributes to raise its profitability, while its engagement in the benefits of employees and creditors causes a reduction in financial returns. Interestingly, the correlations between firms’ responsibilies towards regulators and suppliers and CFP are statistically insignificant. Furthermore, we make pairwise marginal comparisons to identify the distinctions of CSR-CFP relations across industries. The results only indicate that listed firms in Utilities sector have the lower level of CSR intensity than those in Consumer Discretionary and Consumer Staples sectors. The implications and limitations are also discussed in this study.

Pengaruh Cash Ratio dan Debt to Equity Ratio terhadap Return on Equity pada Perusahaan Sub Sektor Telekomunikasi Kriteria Syariah

Competition in the business world requires every company to develop its business to obtain maximum profit. One of them is by improving the performance of the company's management, especially performance in the financial sector. Return on Equity (ROE) is one of the indicators in showing the level of profitability. Many things can affect the achievement of ROE such as liquidity and solvency. This article attempts to investigate more the effect of the liquidity ratio as proxied by the Current Ratio (CR) and the solvency ratio as proxied by the Debt to Equity Ratio (DER). The difference with previous research is that this research was conducted in the infrastructure and utility sector companies, especially the telecommunications sub-sector in Indonesia. This study uses a quantitative approach with a sample of telecommunications sector companies listed on the Indonesia Stock Exchange. The results showed that i) Cash Ratio did not have a significant effect on Return On Equity; ii) Debt to Equity Ratio has a significant negative effect on Return on Equity; and iii) Cash Ratio and Debt to Equity Ratio simultaneously have a simultaneous effect on Return on Equity.

Does COVID-19 influence the maturity management of industrial sectors? Evidence from global data

Purpose This study aims to understand how the COVID-19 pandemic dramatically impacts the maturity of all industrial sectors globally. This paper analyses the general patterns of managing maturity in terms of performance and risk-taking of S&P 500 industrial sectors while determining their association with COVID-19. Design/methodology/approach To analyse the immediate response of COVID-19 on maturity management, the authors gather time-series daily index data of S&P sectors from October 2019 until June 2020 from Bloomberg. The authors select this study period to show the immediate effect of COVID-19 on industrial sector maturity management. The performance and volatility of stock are proxies for managing the maturity of each sector. The authors use vector auto-regression (VAR) methodology to determine the impact of global coronavirus. Findings This study’s findings suggest that the information technology sectors outperform the other sectors; in contrast, the utility sector exhibits the worst performance during a pandemic. Furthermore, the real estate sector depicts a higher level of systematic risk pattern than other sectors. Interestingly, the empirical result of VAR shows that almost every sector is significantly negatively affected by this pandemic; however, the consumer discretionary sector is immune to it. Research limitations/implications Overall, this study’s findings for individual economic sectors demonstrate that the managing maturity of each sector acts differently to the coronavirus outbreak. This study offers insights to researchers, policymakers, regulators, financial report users, investors, employees, clients and society. Originality/value This paper contributes to the existing literature on managing the maturity of industry sectors in terms of observing their trends during the financial crisis.

Investment opportunities in the energy market: What can be learnt from different energy sectors

AbstractWe construct portfolio strategies consisting of different stocks from four main energy market sectors, including oil and gas, oil and gas related equipment and services, multiline utilities and renewable energy. To construct portfolio strategies, we first forecast assets' returns by using multivariate copula models. These forecasting frameworks enable us to undertake both symmetric and asymmetric tail connectedness in simulating from the joint distribution. Second, we applied four major risk measures including volatility, mean absolute deviation, conditional value‐at‐risk and conditional drawdown‐at‐Risk. Our findings indicate that the consideration of homogeneity of oil and gas sector and oil and gas related equipment and services sector, together with the heterogeneity of multiline utilities sector and renewable energy sector should lead to information decoupling among these sectors, thereby providing portfolio diversification. The mixed copula model results in better out‐of‐sample economic performance, indicating the advantage obtained from modelling both symmetric and asymmetric tail dependence. Our analysis of the portfolio weights, among the energy market sectors, shows that for optimal portfolios, multiline utilities and renewable energy sectors constitute higher portion of the invested assets. The study results provide an encouraging guideline for developing renewable energy sector from the perspective of financial market.

Evidence from Thailand on Easing COVID-19’s International Travel Restrictions: An Impact on Economic Production, Household Income, and Sustainable Tourism Development

Even though international travel restrictions are being used to keep the COVID-19 pandemic under control, these measures cannot be considered as long-term solutions to the ongoing crisis. Limitations on traveling activities have tremendous adverse consequences on a country’s economy, particularly leading in radically expanding economic downturn and a shrinking tourism industry. To overcome this hardship, several countries have eased COVID-19 travel restrictions. However, there are still questions concerning the benefit to society as the impact assessment of this implementation transmitting to an economy has not been explicitly investigated. In response to this, we aim to assess the impacts of this implementation as to provide a guideline to global countries for their future adoption. By calculating the output and household income multipliers from the tourism input–output table, this study utilizes a case study from Thailand to indicate that prolonging the full mobility restrictions of international tourists, which results in a yearly loss of revenue in Thai tourism industry, would cost country production up to 144.97 billion USD and up to 45.4 billion USD for loss of household income. When international travel limitations were relaxed, production and household damage would fall to 142.24 billion USD (+1.88%) and 44.7 billion USD (+1.54%), respectively. At individual sectors level, our calculation identified that the most damage of production activities would exist in public utility, agriculture, and food manufacturing sectors. In the perspective of household income, those in the agricultural sector would have greatest impact. This impact results from the Thai tourism industry positioned as a buyer in an economy, having most impact on sectors selling their products or inputs to the tourism industry. As suggested by the input–output multipliers, we emphasize that strengthening the resilience of tourism-related sectors and reforming the tourism industry in relation to potential consumption and production patterns are critical for sustainable tourism development.

Risk management during the Covid-19 crisis: business responses in the Polish water utilities

Abstract Water utilities are an essential service that helps protect public health during crises. The Covid-19 pandemic revealed that crisis preparedness is a crucial capability that water utilities must possess. The purpose of this paper is to identify managerial actions and responses that were undertaken by water utility managers in order to reduce the risk related to the first economic lockdown caused by the unexpected Covid-19 crisis. As water utilities should learn from Covid-19 so as to strengthen their future risk preparedness, the paper offers some theoretical underpinnings on risk management. As a result of literature analysis, we focus on the risk management framework that distinguishes five types of risk. The survey was carried out among 116 waterworks in Poland in April 2020. The results indicate the importance of minimising liquidity risk and supply chain risk, which is relevant to the adopted theoretical framework. The findings also highlight the importance of a category that was not originally included in the research model – that is human resource risk, an area that requires managerial attention in the water utility sector. The results could also provide useful pointers for other water utilities, especially those operating in the same or similar legislative regime.