Who benefits from university–industry collaboration for environmental sustainability?

2019 ◽  
Vol 20 (6) ◽  
pp. 1022-1041
Author(s):  
Eleonora Di Maria ◽  
Valentina De Marchi ◽  
Katharina Spraul
Keyword(s):  
Knowledge Transfer ◽  
Environmental Sustainability ◽  
Original Data ◽  
Academic Disciplines ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Academic Publications ◽  
The University ◽  
The Impact ◽  
University Industry

Purpose This paper aims to analyze the characteristics and performance of university–industry (U-I) collaboration for knowledge transfer in relation to environmental sustainability, considering for both parties of the collaborations. Design/methodology/approach The study is explorative in nature, based on an original data set of more than 350 U-I research and consultancy contracts signed by more than 70 professors specializing in environmental sustainability-related academic disciplines at the University of Padova (Italy) for the period 2008-2012. A mixed-method approach is adopted. Social network analysis and regressions are used to explore the impact of U-I on performance considering for characteristics of the firms, the professors and the collaboration. Interviews with key informants at University of Padova is used to complement and validate the emerging evidence. Findings Results suggest that U-I positively impacts the performance of firms, but not of professors. Indeed, the hypothesis that professors’ performance (measures in terms of academic publications) is positively associated with academic engagement is not supported. On the contrary, firms’ financial performance is positively associated with U-I collaboration focused on knowledge transfer for environmental innovation; the higher the contracts activated the better the economic performance. Originality/value While most previous research has focused either on the university or the firm side of U-I, this study looks at both sides and focuses specifically on engagement in green contracts. The analysis of the geographical scope of U-I collaborations contributes to the growing body of literature by outlining geography’s role in U-I collaborations related to sustainability.

Using photovoice to explore the impact on a student community after including cross-sectional content on environmental sustainability in a university subject: a case study

2020 ◽  
Vol 21 (7) ◽  
pp. 1331-1350
Author(s):  
Carmen Coronado ◽  
Carla Freijomil-Vázquez ◽  
Sara Fernández-Basanta ◽  
Elena Andina-Díaz ◽  
María-Jesús Movilla-Fernández
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Sustainability ◽  
Sewage Treatment Plant ◽  
Treatment Plant ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Teaching Activity ◽  
Student Community ◽  
The University ◽  
The Impact

Purpose Higher education institutions have a significant impact in preparing future generations for the creation of a sustainable society. By formulating appropriate curricula, the university can shape student personality with sustainability concerns. This study aims to present the results of a teaching approach on environmental sustainability using the photovoice methodology. A guided visit to the sewage treatment plant of A Coruña was included as a teaching activity in the “Microbiology and Parasitology” classes of the podiatry degree at University of A Coruña. The teaching objectives were to reinforce contents through observation and to introduce citizen awareness on sustainability and responsible water use in a cross-sectional manner. Design/methodology/approach In this case study, different steps of photovoice as a qualitative participatory action methodology were developed. A total of 43 university students willingly participated with their photographs. Qualitative data were collected from the students’ photovoice visit reports and a subsequent discussion group. Thematic content analysis was performed manually. Findings This study explored the impact of an environmental sustainability teaching activity on the university student community. Six main categories emerged from the qualitative analysis: savings/waste of water, misuse of the water closet, disposing of used oil, solid waste/trash, reuse of clean water and reuse/reduction of the use of plastics. The cross-sectional findings on the needs of education and awareness of sustainability in the community and companies are presented. Originality/value The findings provide evidence of the ability of photovoice method as a pedagogical tool to promote reflection and change in the university community and to introduce sustainability cross-sectional content in green campus curricula. This photovoice experiment is simple and feasible to implement and has a very low economic cost, as long as there are qualified educators.

Shared amenities’ impacts on condominium resale values

2019 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 281-297 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kayo Tajima
Keyword(s):  
Original Data ◽  
Hedonic Pricing ◽  
Unit Price ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Meeting Room ◽  
Residential Unit ◽  
Hedonic Pricing Method ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Over Time

Purpose This study aims to analyze whether and how condominium shared utilities and facilities (e.g. community spaces), of which buyers assume a share of the ownership upon acquisition of a residential unit, affect the condominium unit price over time. Design/methodology/approach The transaction price of each unit reflects the quality of the residential unit and the properties of the shared facilities. Based on the hedonic pricing method, this study assesses the impact of shared amenities on unit resale prices, using an original data set on condominium unit resale transactions and the status of housing characteristics for both condominium units and condominium buildings. Findings Results show that holding other conditions constant, a meeting room and an external space that can host events increase the unit resale price by approximately 7 and 16 per cent, respectively. Some community amenities such as a meeting room may increase its impact later in the condominium’s lifetime. Research limitations/implications Because of the proprietary nature of data, the analysis focuses on high-end condominium properties in central Tokyo. Although it is difficult to single out the shared amenities’ effects on condominium resale prices from potentially confounding factors, this study partially overcomes this issue by including explanatory geographical variables (e.g. ground heights). Practical implications The results suggest that a shared facility that hosts social interactions among residents significantly affects the resale market value of housing units and that their magnitudes may change over time. Originality/value To the best of the author’s knowledge, this study provides the first empirical evidence of the impacts of shared structures on condominium unit sales using micro-level transaction data in Japan.

Community responses to the removal of bottled water on a university campus

2014 ◽  
Vol 15 (3) ◽  
pp. 330-342 ◽  
Author(s):  
Katja Mikhailovich ◽  
Robert Fitzgerald
Keyword(s):  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Environmental Sustainability ◽  
Action Learning ◽  
Bottled Water ◽  
Extensive Literature ◽  
University Campus ◽  
Community Responses ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The University ◽  
The Impact

Purpose – This paper aimed to examine the impact of the removal of bottled water on the campus community. This paper presents the findings of a survey conducted at the first Australian university to remove single-use bottled water from sale on a small regional university campus. The removal of bottled water from sale at the university formed part of the university’s commitment to environmental sustainability. Design/methodology/approach – The study was conducted substantially by undergraduate students who participated in an action learning project in which they assisted in the design, implementation and analysis of an online snapshot survey made available to all staff and students of the university. Findings – The results indicated some evidence of changes to pro-environmental behaviors such as increased use of re-fillable bottles, but there were less desirable outcomes such as drinking less water. Community perceptions were dramatically polarized. Restrictions on freedom of choice, concerns about health as a result of increased use of high-sugar drinks and the continued availability of other plastic drink bottles were provided as strong objections to the removal of bottled water from sale on campus. Practical implications – The study provides useful insights for university sustainability planners and administrators about the complex range of issues associated with the implementation of sustainability initiatives on a university campus. Originality/value – While extensive literature exists about the environmental impacts of bottled water, few studies have explored the impacts or community responses to the removal of bottled water in the university context.

scholarly journals Shifting trust in construction supply chains through blockchain technology

2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Xiaoning (Alice) Qian ◽  
Eleni Papadonikolaki
Keyword(s):  
Supply Chain ◽  
Supply Chain Management ◽  
Original Data ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Chain Management ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Contractual Arrangements ◽  
Blockchain Technology ◽  
The Impact

PurposeBlockchain technology is booming in many industries. Its application in supply chain management is also gradually increasing. Supply chain management (SCM) has long been committed to reducing costs and increasing efficiency and is trying to optimise resources and reduce the sector's fragmentation. Trust has always been an important factor in managing supply chain relationships, and it also affects the efficiency of supply chain operations. To this end, this study aims to examine how trust is affected by the introduction of blockchain technology in construction supply chain management.Design/methodology/approachThis study is based on semi-structured interviews and publicly available information from experts in blockchain and construction supply chain management. Through content analysis, the data are analysed thematically to explore how various types of trust, such as system-based, cognition-based and relation-based, are affected by blockchain technology.FindingsBlockchain technology provides solutions for data tracking, contracting and transferring resources in supply chain management. These applications help enhance the various sources of trust in SCM and provide supply chain partners with protection mechanisms to avoid the risks and costs of opportunistic behaviour in collaboration, shifting trust from relational to system-based and cognition-based.Research limitations/implicationsThis study focuses only on inter-organisational rather than interpersonal trust and empirical data from experts whose knowledge and cognition could be subjective.Practical implicationsLeveraging the potential of digitalisation to manage trust requires that leaders and managers actively try to improve contractual arrangements, information sharing and being open to new innovative technologies like blockchain.Social implicationsFrom a relational view of supply chain management, the extent to which blockchain technology can develop and spread depends on the readiness of the social capital to accept decentralised governance structures.Originality/valueThis study builds upon an original data set and discusses features and applications of blockchain technology, explores the sources and dimensions of trust in supply chain management and explains the impact of blockchain technology on trust.

scholarly journals Entrepreneurial intention as a function of university atmosphere, macroeconomic environment and business support: a multi-group analysis

2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Gentjan Çera ◽  
Edmond Çera ◽  
Zoltan Rozsa ◽  
Svitlana Bilan
Keyword(s):  
Contextual Factors ◽  
Group Analysis ◽  
Original Data ◽  
Entrepreneurial Intention ◽  
Entrepreneurial Intentions ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Business Support ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Macroeconomic Environment

Purpose This study aims to investigate the effect of university atmosphere, macroeconomic environment and business support on students’ entrepreneurial intention. Moreover, it explores whether country moderates these relationships or not. Design/methodology/approach This research is administered on individual-level data collection through survey distribution. The impact of contextual factors on entrepreneurial intention, along with moderating effect, was examined by using multi-group analysis (MGA) in partial least squares (PLS) in an original data set of 1,352 respondents from the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Poland. Findings The results indicate that university environment and business support can influence entrepreneurial intention. Furthermore, country did not moderate the proposed relationships. Research limitations/implications This study’s contribution enriches literature by providing insights on the determinants of entrepreneurial intentions in the Central Europe context. Limitations may be overcome with further research. Practical implications Identifying factors that influence entrepreneurial intention can inform the design of effective policies to boost entrepreneurship and combat youth unemployment. Originality/value Understanding the contextual factors that motivate students towards entrepreneurship may inform the design of more effective policies. The findings of this study, particularly concerning moderating effects, are useful to scholars as entrepreneurial behaviour is proved similar across all three countries.

The future of HR and information capability

2018 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
pp. 3-10 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wayne Brockbank ◽  
Dave Ulrich ◽  
David G. Kryscynski ◽  
Michael Ulrich
Keyword(s):  
Information Management ◽  
Customer Value ◽  
External Information ◽  
University Of Michigan ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Management Capability ◽  
Key Stakeholders ◽  
The University ◽  
The Impact

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the impact that HR departments have on alternative stakeholders when they focus on improving the organization’s information capability instead of focusing their information agenda on human resource (HR) departmental activities. Design/methodology/approach The findings are based on the 2016 offering of the HR Competency study that is sponsored by the Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan and the RBL Group. The data set consists of over 36,000 respondents from around the world. Data were gathered through a 360 methodology that includes self-ratings and HR and non-HR associate ratings. Findings The findings show that HR’s involvement in leveraging business information has more impact than any other HR department activity on creating value for key external stakeholders. When controlling for other HR activities, the analysis shows that 77.4 per cent of HR total impact on customer value and 55.6 per cent of shareholder value occurs through HR’s involvement in information management. This impact occurs as HR departments contribute to identifying important external information (including customer and competitive information), importing important external information into the firm, analyzing information through both quantitative and qualitative algorithms, disseminating key facts and findings throughout the firm and ensuring the full utilization of information in decision making. The authors provide examples of how HR departments in leading companies are contributing to each of these phases of organization information management. Originality/value These findings have potentially important implications for how HR professionals add value to their key stakeholders. It suggests that HR departments will add greater value to their firms as they shift the focus of their information agenda from application to internal HR processes and practices to creating competitive advantage through organization-wide information management capability.

LCA and ecodesign teaching via university-industry cooperation

2019 ◽  
Vol 20 (6) ◽  
pp. 1061-1079 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cassiano Moro Piekarski ◽  
Fábio Neves Puglieri ◽  
Cristiane Karyn de Carvalho Araújo ◽  
Murillo Vetroni Barros ◽  
Rodrigo Salvador
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle ◽  
Teaching Practice ◽  
Course Design ◽  
Industrial Engineering ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Industry Partner ◽  
First Case ◽  
The University ◽  
The Impact ◽  
University Industry

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to report on a life cycle assessment (LCA)-based ecodesign teaching practice via university-industry collaboration in an industrial engineering undergraduate course. Design/methodology/approach A new course was designed and taught in the Industrial Engineering undergraduate course of a Federal University in Brazil. The course comprised explanatory lectures and a practical project developed in a partnership between the university and an industry partner where students had to develop Ecodesign proposals based on LCA to improve the environmental profile of both solid and reticulated paint brushes. To that end, students used the LCA software tool Umberto NXT v.7.1.13 (educational version), where they modeled the life cycle of four plastic brushes and assessed it using the impact categories of climate change and resource consumption, and the Ecoinvent v.3.3 database. After course completion, students, professors and industry collaborators were asked to provide feedback on the project performance and expectations. Findings The course design used was welcomed by both students and the industry partner. Students found the novel approach intriguing and useful to their future careers. The results also exceeded the industry partner’s expectations, as students formulated valuable insights. Professors observed that learning was made easier, as content was put into practice and internalized more easily and solidly. The approach was found to be a win-win-win. Practical implications Students acquired a fair share of knowledge on sustainability issues and potential existing trade-offs, which is valuable to industrial practices. The industry noticed the valuable contributions that academia can provide. The university profited from providing students with a real case challenging traditional teaching methods. Originality/value To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is one of the first case studies to show how LCA and ecodesign teaching practice can support sustainability learning in an industrial engineering undergraduate course.

Transition communities and the glass ceiling of environmental sustainability policies at three universities

2017 ◽  
Vol 18 (4) ◽  
pp. 576-593 ◽  
Author(s):  
Miguel Pardellas Santiago ◽  
Pablo Meira Cartea ◽  
Lucía Iglesias da Cunha
Keyword(s):  
Comparative Analysis ◽  
Glass Ceiling ◽  
Environmental Sustainability ◽  
Educational Strategies ◽  
Educational Approach ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Santiago De Compostela ◽  
European Universities ◽  
The University ◽  
The Impact

Purpose This paper deals with the experiences of three European universities that have implemented transition initiatives, using the Transition Network’s methodology to promote their sustainability plans. The Transition Communities’ model for change is presented from a socio-educational perspective as an effective methodology for encouraging university environmental sustainability processes. In this context, the purpose of this paper was to analyze Transition Communities at universities using an environmental–educational approach in three different scenarios: the Universidade de Santiago de Compostela (USC), the University of Edinburgh (UEd) and the Universidade do Minho (UMinho). Design/methodology/approach The authors engaged in a comparative analysis of multiple case studies in the Transition “phenomenon”, looking for convergences and divergences among them. Findings The comparative analysis revealed three very different scenarios, which ironically shared an absence of explicit theoretical–methodological references in the design, execution and evaluation of the educational actions that were implemented. Examination of the impact and continuity of these initiatives uncovered the existence of a “glass ceiling” in university environmental sustainability strategies. Even the innovative Transition methodology was unable to subvert the established academic, corporate, organizational and cultural structures and dynamics that perpetuate unsustainability. Originality/value This study was carried out from an innovative perspective with few precedents in the Transition context. The authors’ educational–environmental approach provides insight for articulating educational strategies for environmental sustainability at universities and for constructing a Transition model for education.

Increasing revenue and attendance in Canadian Baptist churches

2015 ◽  
Vol 42 (12) ◽  
pp. 1071-1089
Author(s):  
Alan Chan ◽  
Bruce G. Fawcett ◽  
Shu-Kam Lee
Keyword(s):  
Church Health ◽  
Eastern Canada ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Factors Affecting ◽  
Scarce Resources ◽  
Baptist Churches ◽  
And Performance ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Simulation Exercises

Purpose – Church giving and attendance are two important indicators of church health and performance. In the literature, they are usually understood to be simultaneously determined. The purpose of this paper is to estimate if there a sustainable church congregation size using Wintrobe’s (1998) dictatorship model. The authors want to examine the impact of youth and adult ministry as well. Design/methodology/approach – Using the data collected from among Canadian Baptist churches in Eastern Canada, this study investigates the factors affecting the level of the two indicators by the panel-instrumental variable technique. Applying Wintrobe’s (1998) political economy model on dictatorship, the equilibrium level of worship attendance and giving is predicted. Findings – Through various simulation exercises, the actual church congregation sizes is approximately 50 percent of the predicted value, implying inefficiency and misallocation of church resources. The paper concludes with insights on effective ways church leaders can allocate scarce resources to promote growth within churches. Originality/value – The authors are the only researchers getting the permission from the Atlantic Canada Baptist Convention to use their mega data set on church giving and congregation sizes as per the authors’ knowledge. The authors are also applying a theoretical model on dictatorship to religious/not for profits organizations.

scholarly journals Do gender differences in career aspirations contribute to sticky floors?

2017 ◽  
Vol 38 (4) ◽  
pp. 580-593 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nick Deschacht ◽  
Ann-Sophie De Pauw ◽  
Stijn Baert
Keyword(s):  
Gender Differences ◽  
Gender Discrimination ◽  
Career Decisions ◽  
Original Data ◽  
Young Female ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Employee Preferences ◽  
Job Offers ◽  
Female Professionals ◽  
The Impact

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to test hypotheses regarding the importance of employee preferences in explaining sticky floors, the pattern that women are, compared to men, less likely to start to climb the job ladder. Design/methodology/approach The authors use original data obtained using a survey and a vignette study in which participants had to score the likeliness with which they would accept job offers with different promotion characteristics. Findings The main findings are that young female professionals have a less pronounced preference for more demanding and less routinary jobs and that this effect is mediated by the greater risk aversion and anticipated gender discrimination among women. No gender differences were found in the relative likeliness to apply for jobs that involve a promotion in terms of job authority. Research limitations/implications The vignette method assumes that artificial settings with low stakes do not bias results. Another limitation follows from the focus on inter-organizational promotions among young professionals, which raises the question to what extent the results can be generalized to broader settings. Originality/value This paper contributes to the literature on gender differences in careers by measuring the impact of employee preferences on gender differences in career decisions.

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