Agile Project Management in International Logistics Operations

The chapter discussed a business model (BM) perspective as an innovating practice to analyze the transition of the EuroPacific LL Company (EuroPacific) from regional logistic operator to domestic logistic operator or third-party logistic provider (3PL) for Asian companies. The company operates regionally in markets of Croatia, Hungary, Serbia, Slovakia, and Slovenia and globally in South Korea, India, and Singapore. The chosen long-term business vision of the company is based on the goal of becoming the key logistics provider of goods from the Far East directed to the European markets. The company was confronted with the first period of crisis from 2008 to 2010 and again with the second crisis started in 2020 when they realized that, although known as the crisis breaker, the company is not being exempted from market challenges, extraordinary situations like pandemic, and consecutive economic downturn effects.

Big Data and “New” Global History: Global Goods and Trade Networks in Early Modern China and Europe

This paper introduces an innovative method applied to global (economic) history using the tools of digital humanities through the design and development of the GECEM Project Database (www.gecem.eu; www.gecemdatabase.eu). This novel database goes beyond the static Excel files frequently used by conventional scholarship in early modern history studies to mine new historical data through a bottom-up process and analyse the global circulation of goods, consumer behaviour, and trade networks in early modern China and Europe. Macau and Marseille, as strategic entrepôts for the redistribution of goods, serve as the main case study. This research is framed within a polycentric approach to analyse the connectivity of south Chinese and European markets with trade zones of Spain, France, South America, and the Pacific.

Portuguese Wood Pellets Market: Organization, Production and Consumption Analysis

Wood pellets are a form of energy that can be seen as an alternative to fossil fuels, thus contributing to the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. In other words, wood pellets can be considered a solution contributing to the mitigation of climate change. The use of wood pellets has grown significantly in recent years, with different markets emerging, such as Portugal, both from production and consumption perspectives. The wood pellet industry in Portugal began its development about 15 years ago, with the companies installed in the country initially almost exclusively dedicated to the production of wood pellets for export to central and northern European markets. However, over the years, the domestic market, initially considered insignificant, began to develop; it recently reached a considerable consuming share of the national production. This study presents an analysis of the Portuguese wood pellet market using data collected on the sector, and specifically on producers and consumers. The information was gathered using surveys presented directly to consumers and producers and through interviews with other stakeholders in the sector. From the analysis of the information, it was possible to understand the market’s dynamics, its current evolution and its prospects for the upcoming years, since it can already be considered mature and consolidated.

The Local Impact on the Concurrent Sentiment-Return Nexus: Asian versus European Markets

We examine the relationship between investor sentiment and contemporaneous returns in sixteen Asian and European stock markets between 2004 and 2016. To identify the sentiment-return nexus, we use the OLS models with Newey-West standard errors as well as the panel regressions with cross-country fixed effects and time dummies. We report the regional outcomes for Asia, Europe, and the individual markets. Our empirical results reveal a significant effect of sentiment on stock returns, although those effects are nonidentical across markets. We find the dissimilarities in the sentiment-return relationship among the sample markets are driven negatively by almost all national factors, with the strongest determinants being the development of financial institutions and the quality of regulation. The impact of cultural dimensions among the sample markets, on the contrary, is relatively weak and mixed. Our research is the first to compare Asian and European outcomes and reveal which region is more vulnerable to the influence of the local components. We detect that, except cultural aspects, European markets are more sensitive to country-specific characteristics than Asian ones. Doi: 10.28991/esj-2021-01318 Full Text: PDF

The curation of European Netflix catalogues on social media: The key role of transnational and local cultural traits

This article aims to analyse how Netflix uses social media to generate a dialogue between the local and transnational layers of television, to position its brand and curate content in domestic markets. Within the frame of transnationalism, a cross-cultural comparative study has been conducted in three different local European markets: the United Kingdom, Spain and the Nordic region. The results show the negotiation between transnationalisation and the needs of local cultural distinctiveness through language adaptation, emphasis on in-house original US flagship productions, the overrepresentation of original local content and use of cultural references at different levels.

Implications of the New EU Carbon Border Tax for the EAEU

The article focuses on the interaction of the European Union and the Eurasian Economic Union in the context of green technological transformation. The European Union is actively pursuing a policy of transition to a carbon-neutral economy. In this regard, it intends to implement a special tax mechanism, which may significantly limit export opportunities for the EAEU. Moreover, the EU is one of the key partners of the EAEU and plays a major role in the economic development of individual countries that are members of the integration association. The article further discusses the projected risks for the EAEU member states, and provides measures that can ensure trade security of the Union’s countries on the European markets. In particular, measures should be aimed at the development own environmental legislation, harmonization of the legislation of EAEU member states, and the creation of permanent negotiation mechanisms to bring together the positions of EAEU countries in the context of the climate policy pursued by the European Union.

INVESTIGATION OF THE EARLY TRACES OF PEPPER TRADING IN BANTEN AREA, WEST JAVA

Berbagai sumber sejarah menyebutkan bahwa Banten merupakan salah satu pelabuhan lada untuk pasar Asia dan Eropa pada abad ke-17. Namun pecahan keramik dari periode Tang dan Song-Yuan hasil penggalian di situs Banten Girang membuktikan bahwa aktivitas perdagangan telah dimulai sejak abad X. Permasalahannya, sejarah awal perkebunan lada belum diketahui dengan jelas, oleh karen itu diperlukan suatu kajian untuk mengetahui tentang perdagangan lada pra-Islam di Banten. Kami melakukan survei di pedalaman Banten yang diduga sebagai lahan perkebunan di masa lalu. Pengamatan lapangan telah menemukan kembali jejak lada yang terhubung ke pelabuhan di pantai utara dan barat. Berdasarkan keterkaitannya dengan peninggalan pra-Islam, lada diduga telah dibudidayakan sejak Milenium pertama Masehi seiring dengan masuknya pedagang India dan China melalui Selat Sunda. Hasil analisis kontekstual terhadap jejak arkeologi dan etnografi, telah memberi gagasan bahwa perdagangan lada telah menjadi penggerak utama perekonomian yang dikendalikan oleh kekuasaan politik pesisir utara Jawa yang mungkin telah dimulai pada masa Tarumanagara dan berkembang pada masa kerajaan Sunda-Banten. Various historical sources state that Banten was one of the pepper ports for the Asian and European markets in the 17th century. Ceramic shards from the Tang and Song-Yuan periods at the Banten Girang site prove that trading activities have started since the 10th century. The problem is, the early history of pepper plantations is unknown, therefore a study is needed to gain knowledge about the pre-Islamic pepper trade in Banten. We conducted a survey in the interior of Banten suspected as plantation land in the past. Field observations have rediscovered traces of pepper connected to ports on the north and west coasts. Based on its association with pre-Islamic remains, pepper was supposed to have been cultivated since the first millennium AD along with the arrival of Indian traders through the Sunda Strait. The results of the contextual analysis on archaeological and ethnographic traces, propose the idea that the pepper trade has become the main driver of the economy controlled by the north coast polities of Java which may have started during the Tarumanagara period and developed during the Sundanese kingdom of Banten.

Chapter 5: Russia’s Role in International Fish and Seafood Trade

This chapter sheds light on Russia’s changed role in the international seafood trade system and discusses to what extent the new more export-oriented turn is sustainable. Russia’s seafood trade policy has changed significantly over time, from directing just about all of the production to the domestic market during the Soviet period, to increasingly pursuing a dual strategy as both an importer and exporter from 2000 onwards. The first section gives a brief account of Soviet-era seafood production and trade. The second part offers a perspective on seafood trade during the early post-Soviet period. The third part examines how the introduction of Food Security Doctrines and the 2014 embargo have influenced Russia’s seafood trade. The final section provides an outlook for the future. Similar to agriculture, concerns over food security are likely to lead to a reduced role as a seafood importer and a larger role as a seafood exporter. The structure of Russia’s seafood exports will continue to tilt towards Asian markets, with European markets assuming a secondary role.

Green Premium in the Tokyo Office Rent Market

More than 10 years have passed since studies on green buildings gained attention in the academic and industrial literature. Many studies report the economic value of green buildings, mainly in the U.S. and European markets. An empirical clarification of the dynamics of green premiums has significant implications for future urban sustainability. This study constructed a dataset of Tokyo office rents from 2009 to 2019. We estimated the green office rental premium using a hedonic approach. Our results show that, on average, an office property with a green label gains a premium of approximately 6.5% on contract rents. The Tokyo office market is heterogeneous, and endogeneity is an issue when identifying the green premium. We addressed the endogeneity issue with propensity score clustering. As a result of our estimation, the premium was approximately +5.4% for medium sized-old buildings and +2.6% for large-sized new buildings.

Commercial real estate prices and COVID-19

PurposeThe article analyzes the effects of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic on commercial real estate prices, with a particular focus on European markets.Design/methodology/approachThe authors start by highlighting caveats to bear in mind when referring to direct real estate indices. The authors then analyze the behavior of commercial real estate prices during the pandemic, emphasizing differences across property types. For that purpose, the authors use data for both direct and listed real estate and further discuss changes in the main factors affecting commercial real estate pricing. The article then turns to discussing the likely trajectory of commercial real estate prices in the future.FindingsThe authors report that retail and hospitality properties and to a lesser extent office buildings have been affected the most by COVID-19, while the residential and industrial sectors have been less affected by the crisis. The authors maintain that the future trajectory of prices will vary across sectors and that the type and location of assets will become increasingly important in their valuation.Originality/valueThis paper provides for a better understanding of the behavior of commercial real estate prices during the COVID-19 pandemic.