Energy and Resource Security: Some Insights

The import-export paradox emerges when countries, despite being rich in resources, are not willing to use their resources and in turn import them from other countries thus, depleting the other countries’ resources. As a case study, the mining sector in India provides evidence of the import-export paradox as despite being rich in minerals, India imports three times its own production of the same. The growing global demand of energy only puts more stress on this issue and thus it is crucial to address this paradox in order to achieve energy and resource security. One of the ways for doing this could be by establishing a resource bank that treats resources as capital and by doing so it ensures that the resources being used are also being replenished. Steps can also be taken at G20 level to develop a cooperative framework to address the same. At the Indian level, initiatives such as the International Solar Alliance can be strengthened by increased allocation of finances in order to build greater capacities.

Assessment of the development of innovation activities in the regions: Case of Ukraine

The development of innovation activities is of great importance on the path to achieving the goals of sustainable development. Success on this path is closely related to the presence of comparable information on the development of innovation activities at the regional level. The aim of the paper is to assess the development of innovation activities in the regions of Ukraine and identify differences in results. The study is performed using relative indicators for the assessment of the development of innovation activities in the regions of Ukraine. The indicators were averaged and normalized. To analyze how innovation activities change over time, the dynamic indices based on the geometric mean of the growth rate of the relative indicators were used. The obtained results have significant differences in the regions being assessed. Most regions have a heterogeneous development of innovation activities. At the same time, they are at the top and bottom of the rankings of the regions in different indicators of the development of innovation activities. Only Cherkasy and Zaporizhzhia oblasts are at the top of the rankings in at least 75% of indicators. However, in 2017‒2019, all indicators improved in at least 29% of regions. In addition, 75% of indicators improved in at least 54% of regions. Therefore, over time, most regions progressed in the development of innovation activities. Management decisions for the development of innovation activities should be complex for all regions and implemented primarily in the regions where there is no improvement over time. AcknowledgmentsThe paper is prepared within the scientific research project “Sustainable development and resource security: from disruptive technologies to digital transformation of Ukrainian economy” (No. 0121U100470).

An Integrated Approach to Peace and Resource Security

This paper explores the value proposition of using systems tools to model the interlinkages that exist between the security of water, energy, land, and food (WELF) resources and peace. The intersection between these five sectors, referred to as the WELF-Peace nexus, is complex, unfolds in a constrained landscape of specific context and scale, and involves the interaction of multiple systems and their subsystems. Multiple states of combined community peace and resource security are possible. This paper demonstrates the value proposition of using system dynamics to account for the interdependencies that exist between the four sectors of the WELF nexus and the domains of positive peace. Two existing indices, the Positive Peace Index and the Pardee RAND Food-Energy-Water (FEW) Security Index proposed by the Institute for Economy and Peace (IEP) are considered, and their interaction analyzed using system dynamics. The approach can be used to explore different scenarios involving linkages between positive peace and different forms of FEW resource synergy and tradeoff.

Antecedents and outcomes of supply chain security practices: the role of organizational security culture and supply chain disruption occurrence

PurposeThe study examines organizational security culture as the driver of supply chain security (SCS) practices (information management security, facility management security and human resource security). Additionally, the study examines the minimization of occurrence of supply chain disruption as the outcome of SCS practices.Design/methodology/approachA research model grounded on the contingency theory and the dynamic capabilities theory was developed and tested using partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM). Data was obtained from 110 manufacturing and service firms in Ghana.FindingsIt was revealed that organizational security culture has a positive and a significant impact on information management security, facility management security and human resource security as hypothesized. In addition, facility management security significantly minimized supply chain disruption occurrence as hypothesized but information management security and human resource security did not.Originality/valueTo the best of the researchers' knowledge, this is the first study that examines organizational security culture as the driver of SCS practices. Additionally, the study is novel in examining the interplay between organizational security culture, SCS practices and supply chain disruption.