Reflective backward analysis to assess the operational performance and eco-efficiency of two industrial districts

PurposeThe best strategy to apply for the future cannot disregard a careful analysis of the past and is the one capable of seizing opportunities from outside. Manufacturing sectors are characterized by sudden changes, and in this work, we analyze the ceramic tiles sector characterized by a mature technology in which innovation has played a key role.Design/methodology/approachThis study aims to provide a sectorial analysis based on a historical data set (2004–2019) to highlight how an industry is performing both operationally and in terms of eco-efficiency. For this purpose, from a methodological point of view, the data envelopment analysis (DEA) was used.FindingsThe results of the analysis show that the Spanish ceramics industry shows a growing economic trend by taking advantage of lower industrial costs, while the Italian industry is characterized by a modest decline partially mitigated by exports. The industrial districts are an aggregation of companies that in the ceramic sector has allowed to combine innovation, sustainability and digitalization and is a model toward the maximization of sustainable efficiency because it is a place of aggregation of resources and ideas.Originality/valueThis study experiments with an innovative way of addressing traditional industry analysis, namely, integrating the reflective management approach with DEA-based backward analysis. This provides decision makers with the basis for new interpretations of variable trends.

Sectorial Analysis of the U.S. and China Trade Conflict

The impact of the U.S - China trade conflict extends beyond both nations' economies to the economies of trade allies and non-trading partners caught in the web of the trade impasse. This paper conducts a sectoral analysis of the trade conflict on the U.S economy using the manufacturing, agriculture, and technology sectors as metrics. We explore data from the databases of the U.S Census Bureau and the U.S Bureau of Economic Analysis from 2001 to 2019. The trade conflict has led to a significant reduction in trades between both nations. The 25% counter tariff imposed by China reduced U.S exports by $30 billion between 2018 and 2019. Primary income receipts declined 10%, and secondary income receipts declined further in the negative territory. China's counter-tariffs increased component costs for the U.S automobile industry, leading to a reduction in the number of new and used vehicles sold during the period. We identify an incentive-driven trade policy framework against the current punitive stance, the resumption of trade negotiations, and leveraging the WTO's instrumentality as measures to resolve the current trade conflict.

Financial sustainability: An annotated bibliography

The literature on financial sustainability is scattered in such a way that a synthesis is indispensable. The present study on an annotated bibliography of financial sustainability seeks to fill this particular gap by presenting a collation of published literature in the sphere. The sectorial analysis depicted that ability to cover the costs from its own resources and ability to pay debt were the key dimensions to measure financial sustainability. The majority of the studies were found in the public sector covering local governments and central governments particularly in such European countries as Spain, Italy and England. Earning enough resources, asset sustainability and the ability to repay obligations are the three dimensions to assess financial sustainability. The study also pointed out the key research areas, variables and analytical tools among other trends in the literature. The present study assists the future researchers in reviewing the literature on financial sustainability and developing research methodology.

The impact of board of directors’ characteristics on dividend policy: Evidence from a developing country

The “dividend puzzle” has been an unresolved problem since the 1950s. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the nature and a level of the relationship between board characteristics dividend policy. The study used a positivistic approach and Spearman correlation metric, descriptive statistics, and binary regression models have been deployed as analytical tools. It is found that food and beverages sector had the highest percentage for dividend payout from 2015 to 2019. The highest percentage for women on boards was 13% in the land and property sector. The average board size for the selected companies was 8. The likelihood to pay dividends, women on boards, the board size, and CEO duality indicated a significant positive relationship. Panel regression results indicate that there is no significant relationship between board characteristics and the level of dividend payment for the selected sample. But in a sectorial analysis audit committee size has a significant negative relationship with the level of dividend payment in the manufacturing sector whereas board gender diversity has a significant positive relationship with the same in the food and beverage sector. In summary, dividend decision has been affected by several board characteristics, but such factors had no significant impact on the level of dividends declared in the market. The sectorial analysis revealed that several characteristics affected the level of dividends in two sectors

Innovative Capacity of Incubated Companies in Brazilian Technology-Based Business Incubators

TBCs are ventures formed by entrepreneurs whose core is technical knowledge and which are sometimes accompanied by business incubators. It is estimated that the earnings of TBCs incubated in Brazil are more than R$550 million and that they generate around 14 thousand jobs. Thus, given the importance of TBCs for a country's social and economic development, this research is justified, which aims to measure the innovative capacity of TBCs linked to incubators of Brazilian technology-based companies. The chosen methodology was descriptive research, of quantitative nature, whose data collection technique uses the Innovation Radar questionnaire. The sample of this study had the participation of 62 incubated in the incubation stage in 22 incubators located in the states of Goiás, Mato Grosso, Mato Grosso do Sul, Minas Gerais, and Distrito Federal. Among other results, the study showed that, in a sectorial analysis, mining companies in the service sector are not very innovative and the other occasional innovators, as well as that the industries of Mato Grosso do Sul are not very innovative and the other occasional innovators. Finally, in comparison, all TBCs that participated in the research are occasional innovators, that is, in general, the entire sample was characterized as an occasional innovator.

The influence of recession and macroeconomic variables on sectorial capital structure

The aim of this paper is to analyze the influence of the recent recession and of macroeconomic variables over the indebtedness in Brazilian industry sectors. The gap derives from the preference for investigating the reaction of capital structure according to economic sectors. However, it has to be considered that industry sectors react differently to variations in the economic context, since they have different optimal points of capital structure composition. The relevance of the chosen topic lies in carrying out a sectorial analysis of the effect of recession and of macroeconomic variables on capital structure composition, identifying the most sensitive sectors. It is also relevant in terms of being based on classical financial theories applied to the current context, in order to help predict the proportion of debt given fluctuations in a set of macroeconomic variables. Standing out among the main contributions of this article are the analysis of the level of indebtedness of Brazilian companies given the occurrence of recession and variations in the macroeconomy, identifying sectors that are most exposed to modifying their capital structure due to these factors. Six research hypotheses were formulated and tested using multiple linear regression, with two-stage fixed effects based on panel data collected from 211 companies, classified into six sectors, with data relating to the first quarter of 2010 up to the first quarter of 2018. The results revealed that the recent Brazilian recession was relevant for the capital structure of the sectors studied, with inflation only being significant for the health sector. The level of indebtedness of the basic materials sector was shown to be the most dependent on economic fluctuations and that of telephony and utilities was shown to be the least dependent. In addition, it was verified that the company-specific variables have greater relevance in determining capital structure compared to the macroeconomic ones.

Public Perception on Reputation and Its Influence on Decision Making

Reputation is an important part of everyday life of people, businesses, and other organizations. Reputation is like a bunch of thoughts in ones’ mind that drives people’s decision-making as an auto-pilot. There are many methods applied to define reputation level for companies all over the world, such as ”World Most Admired Companies” of Fortune magazine, Financial Times “World’s the Most Respected Companies”, “Britain’s Most Admired Companies” from Management Today, or ”Asia’s Most Admired Companies” from Asian Business. This paper aims to discuss on the measurement of reputation which could stem by the public opinion. To do so, the analysis reports on a national survey which measures 5 variables of public opinion perception on Albanian companies. Each company provided by the respondents, is calculated a value which leads to define the reputation level of the total market. The whole list gives space to do sectorial analysis, too. This paper will particularly discuss the sector of shopping centres. Drawing on calculated values for each of shopping centres, perceptual maps are designed that can be of great help for investors to decide about the most appropriate shopping centre they should invest their new retail project. Furthermore, these perceptual maps can also be designed by combining variables that are related with employment and success that will help job-seekers to compare different options in the job market.