sustainable innovation business models and economic performance an overview sustainable development requires radical and systemic innovations such innovations can be more effectively created and studied when building on the concept of business models this concept provides firms with a holistic framework to envision and implement sustainable innovations for researchers the concept provides an analytical tool that allows them to assess the interplay between the different aspects that firms combine to create ecological economic and social value in addition the business model concept provides a link between the individual firm and the larger production and consumption system in which it operates this paper provides an introduction to the special issue which emerged from selected papers presented at the erscp emsu 2010 conference held in delft the netherlands papers in the special issue cover a broad range from a conceptual discussion resulting in a research agenda the assessment of diffusion of specific business models such as product service systems the introduction of new management tools for business transition management to case studies on how specific business models evolved in specific communities together these papers provide insight into the promise of the business model concept for understanding and advancing sustainable innovation

vertical integration of local fuel producers into rural district heating systems climate impact and production costs farmers can use their own agricultural biomass residues for heat production in small scale systems enabling synergies between the district heating dh sector and agriculture the barriers to entry into the swedish heat market were extremely high as long as heat distribution were considered natural monopoly but were recently lowered due to the introduction of a regulated third party access tpa system in the dh sector this study assesses the potential impact on greenhouse gas emissions and cost based heat price in the dh sector when farmers vertically integrate into the heat supply chain and introduce more local and agricultural crops and residues into the fuel mix four scenarios with various degree of farmer integration were assessed using life cycle assessment lca methodology and by analysis of the heat production costs the results show that full integration of local farm and forest owners in the value chain can reduce greenhouse gas emissions and lower production costs heat price if there is an incentive to utilise local and agricultural fuels the results imply that farmer participation in the dh sector should be encouraged by e g eu rural development programmes

utilities business models for renewable energy a review abstract the transformation of today s electric power sector to a more sustainable energy production based on renewable energies will change the structure of the industry consequently utilities as the major stakeholders in this transformation will face new challenges in their way of doing business they will have to adapt their business models to remain competitive in the new energy landscape the present review of business model literature shows that two basic choices exist utility side business models and customer side business models the two approaches follow a very different logic of value creation while the former is based on a small number of large projects the latter is based on a large number of small projects the article reveals that blueprints for utility side business models are available whereas customer side business models are in an early stage of development applying the business model framework as an analytical tool it is found that existing utility side business models comprise a series of advantages for utilities in terms of revenue potential and risk avoidance this study provides new insights about why utilities will favor utility side business models over customer side business models and why they also should engage in customer side business models in their quest for more sustainable future business models

business models for distributed energy resources a review and empirical analysis this paper presents a novel empirical analysis of the most common business models for the deployment of demand response and energy management systems electricity and thermal storage and solar pv distributed energy resources we classify the revenue streams customer segments electricity services provided and resources for 144 business models we use this assessment to identify a set of business model archetypes in each resource category our analysis leads us to five observations that have important implications for policymakers and regulators first our analysis highlights that business models are deeply embedded in myriad policy and regulatory frameworks second current der business models are driven more by regulatory and policy factors than by technological factors third the relatively small set of well defined der business model archetypes suggests that the determinants of success within a given archetype may include executional capabilities culture and other activities that are not captured in our framework fourth continued cost declines technological innovation and changing policy and regulatory landscapes mean the business models of tomorrow will likely look very different than the business models of today finally der business models compete within archetypes for market share in providing a limited set of electricity services

financial impact of energy efficiency under a federal combined efficiency and renewable electricity standard case study of a kansas super utility abstract historically local state and federal policies have separately promoted the generation of electricity from renewable technologies and the pursuit of energy efficiency to help mitigate the detrimental effects of global climate change and foster energy independence federal policymakers are currently considering and several states have enacted a combined efficiency and renewable electricity standard which proponents argue provides a comprehensive approach with greater flexibility and at lower cost we examine the financial impacts on various stakeholders from alternative compliance strategies with a combined efficiency and renewable electricity standard ceres using a case study approach for utilities in kansas our results suggest that an investor owned utility is likely to pursue the most lucrative compliance strategy for its shareholders one that under invests in energy efficiency resources if a business model for energy efficiency inclusive of both a lost fixed cost recovery mechanism and a shareholder incentive mechanism is implemented our analysis indicates that an investor owned utility would be more willing to pursue energy efficiency as a lower cost ceres compliance strategy absent implementing such a regulatory mechanism separate energy efficiency and renewable portfolio standards would improve the likelihood of reducing reliance on fossil fuels at least cost through the increased pursuit of energy efficiency

going beyond best technology and lowest price on renewable energy investors preference for service driven business models abstract renewable energy is becoming increasingly important for economies in many countries but still in an emerging industry renewable energy requires supportive energy policy helping firms to develop and protect competitive advantages in global competition as a guideline for designing such policy we consult well informed stakeholders within the renewable energy industry investors their preferences serve as explorative indicator for assessing which business models might succeed in competition to contribute to only limited research on renewable energy investors preferences we ask which business models investment managers for renewable energy prefer to invest in we report from an explorative study of 380 choices of renewable energy investment managers based on the stated preferences we modelled three generic business models to calculate the share of investors preferences we find exiting evidence a customer intimacy business model that proposes best services is much more preferred by investors than business models that propose lowest price or best technology policy makers can use those insights for designing policy that supports service driven business models for renewable energy with a scope on customer needs rather than technology or price additionally we state important implications for renewable energy entrepreneurs managers and research

comment on the awareness effects of mere distribution awareness forecasting models such as those discussed in mahajan muller and sharma mahajan v e muller s sharma 1984 an empirical comparison of awareness forecasting models of new product introduction marketing sci 3 summer 179 197 will be incomplete until they take account of the awareness effects of mere distribution distribution acts as both a main effect and as an interactive partner with advertising and promotion in the generation of awareness advertising in turn leads to distribution heeler et al heeler r m m j kearney b j mehaffey 1973 modelling supermarket product selection j marketing res 10 february 34 37

renewable micro generation of heat and electricity review on common and missing socio technical configurations abstract a widespread adoption of distributed generation dg technologies in energy systems can play a key role in creating clean reliable energy and support the targets of emission reduction a transition from current modes of production to a significant deployment of renewable energy technologies can fundamentally affect the structure of the industry and change the way energy is produced transmitted and sold the current paper provides an extended review of the socio technical configurations of micro generation based on journal publications and reports during the 21st century the paper analyses currently existing and missing configurations and discusses technology and policy implications to support proliferation of micro generation technology and local energy production from renewable sources the potential for new configurations can be found particularly in heat producing micro generation with solar heat heat pumps and biomass developing further the operations and maintenance of distributed generation technologies and business models appears an area that calls for further innovation and corresponding innovation policy measures third party service and community driven deployment models can aide the proliferation of distributed generation and further innovation therein justifying the introduction of feed in tariffs to attract such models during their early diffusion

renewable energy investment by the world bank world bank group lending for renewable energy accelerated in the 1990s and resulted in 17 approved projects with 700 million in bank loans and 230 million in grants by the global environment facility the bank s 1999 energy sector strategy fuel for thought charted new directions for renewable energy investment the present paper considers the implementation challenges of fuel for thought strategies and the opportunities for carrying them out the paper distinguishes between agendas in the energy and rural development sectors and reviews limitations to implementing these agendas lessons from projects are just emerging but suggest ve areas of support for renewable energy by the bank in the future renewable energy nancing electric power policy frameworks rural energy enterprises regulated rural energy concessions and domestic technology manufacturing interviews with the private sector suggest additional forms of support assist with business plans nance pre feasibility studies reduce commercial risks support joint ventures build market volume and stability and pilot and test innovative business models the e ectiveness of the bank in following through on its ambitious agenda fundamentally rests on the willingness and commitment of developing countries to pursue these strategies and the degree to which renewable energy applications are seen to serve countries development priorities 2001 elsevier science ltd all rights reserved

deregulation market power and risk behaviour in spanish banks abstract this paper provides empirical evidence on the effects of regulatory changes in the market power of spanish banks it also analyses the response of banks in terms of risk taking behaviour as a result of a reduction in economic profits we find that liberalisation measures have increased competition and eroded banks market power we observe that banks with lower charter values tend to have lower equity assets ratios lower solvency and to experience higher credit risk the last evidence is new in the literature and calls for strengthening regulatory concerns about credit risk management by banks in situations of increased competition

2012 international year for sustainable energy for all african frontrunnership in rural electrification abstract 2012 has been declared the international year for sustainable energy for all by the un while africa remains the most underpowered continent the prognosis for a brighter future is looking good as key stakeholders governments private sector civil society and the donor community have mobilized at an unprecedented scale to experiment with new policies regulatory frameworks and business models to rapidly upscale access to sustainable energy the top down central grid expansion approach to increasing electricity access is very capital intensive and yet has gained considerable momentum at the expense of lower cost options that utilize decentralized off grid solutions a decentralized bottom up approach could also use indigenous renewable energy sources and foster more significant linkages with livelihood opportunities in the rural un served territories this paper evaluates the emerging experiments through the lenses of c k prahalad s bottom of the pyramid theory and clayton christensen s disruptive technologies perspective three front runner initiatives involving new business models innovative technologies and institutional capacity building will be analyzed in addition the paper examines a regulatory policy initiative designed to stimulate clean energy investments in ghana though the examples are all from ghana they illustrate general challenges to sub saharan africa as a whole

emergence of green business models the case of algae biofuel for aviation emergent business models seek to take advantage of new market mechanisms driven by technological changes particularly those related to the production and delivery of clean or sustainable energy such business models often function at the intersection of various industries with global views and the resulting systems have distinct social political environmental economic technological and business dimensions such holistic systems are not only difficult to develop but also require support from a broad range of actors with effective regulations and policies in place such that the firm functions within a framework that integrates various factors this study substantiates such a framework by detailing the nascent algae based bio fuel industry that caters to the aviation sector while arguing that businesses in the energy industry can emerge as a next practice platform that drive a sixth wave of innovation the framework begins with three basic enablers innovation flexibility and sustainability and explains how value from renewable energy technologies can be created and captured sustainably and innovatively with new market mechanisms implemented by firms with green business models

business models of heat entrepreneurship in finland abstract this paper presents the business models of small scale heat energy production in finland firstly the development of heat entrepreneurship in the country is presented including the remarkable growth of small and medium size enterprises smes in the last 15 years secondly the concept of business model business architecture of product service flows and earning logics is modified to the framework of wood heat production the business model concept and its sub concepts is applied in a brief review of current heat energy businesses in finland we arrive at a business model of heat entrepreneurships that are public companies utilities public private partnerships private companies and cooperatives energy saving company esco network model of large enterprise and franchising descriptive cases of these models are presented finally the paper concludes with a discussion on the applicability of the business models in different operational environments and geographical contexts

the role of the business model in capturing value from innovation evidence from xerox corporation s technology spin off companies this paper explores the role of the business model in capturing value from early stage technology a successful business model creates a heuristic logic that connects technical potential with the realization of economic value the business model unlocks latent value from a technology but its logic constrains the subsequent search for new alternative models for other technologies later on an implicit cognitive dimension overlooked in most discourse on the topic we explore the intellectual roots of the concept offer a working definition and show how the xerox corporation arose by employing an effective business model to commercialize a technology rejected by other leading companies of the day we then show the long shadow that this model cast upon xerox s later management of selected spin off companies from xerox parc xerox evaluated the technical potential of these spin offs through its own business model while those spin offs that became successful did so through evolving business models that came to differ substantially from that of xerox the search and learning for an effective business model in failed ventures by contrast were quite limited

multinational oil companies and the adoption of sustainable development a resource based and institutional theory interpretation of adoption heterogeneity sustainable development is often framed as a social issue to which corporations should pay attention because it offers both opportunities and challenges through the use of institutional theory and the resource based view of the firm we shed some light on why more than 20 years after sustainable development was first introduced we see neither the adoption of this business model as dominant nor its converse that is the total abandonment of the model as unworkable and unprofitable we focus on multinational corporations mncs because they were among the organizations first called to take action in order to illustrate the institutional pressures mncs face and their strategic response to these pressures we analysed four major oil and gas multinationals subject to similar sustainable development pressures climate change biodiversity renewable energy development and social investment we argue that normative and coercive isomorphism does not occur at the global level because sustainable development is largely a stakeholder driven rather than a broad social pressure that is host country interpretation of sustainable development pressures varies across an mnc s subsidiary network based on the analysis of the four major mncs annual reports from 2000 to 2005 we argue that mimetic isomorphism may occur but since it implies the use of complex and intangible resources mimetic processes are slow rare and discretionary

sustainable rural electrification using rice husk biomass energy a case study of cambodia abstract the role of energy in overall social and economical developments is well recognized however most energy providers are reluctant to venture in rural regions of developing countries these regions are generally characterized by low income populations minimum access to electricity rare access to financial services or loans in this paper we present the potential of rice husk for rural electrification in cambodia rice husk is locally abundant at almost no cost with a production over 9 3 million tons paddy rice in 2014 for a total population of about 15 million people the conversion of rice husk into electricity through gasification or thermally generated electricity is a well known technology rice husk can contribute in a sustainable manner to grant access to electricity to cambodian rural population and is more reliable and competitive with reference to other renewable energy sources of electricity the present investigation focuses on the study of self sustaining energy service model to provide grid quality power to rural populations without the need of subsidies in cambodia many rice mills are operating in rural and semi urban areas some of these mills are now using rice husk for electricity production for industries and rural households generally for lighting at low cost we believe that the power systems focusing on both power requirements for the industry such rice mills and power requirements for the people living in the neighboring villages rural areas at affordable tariff could become the most appropriate solution for the sustainable rural electrification along with the potential of rice husk for rural electrification in cambodia we present a financially viable business model to provide the grid quality power to rural population without grant or subsidy

what is challenging renewable energy entrepreneurs in developing countries this paper cumulates the findings from a review of the challenges faced by renewable energy entrepreneurs in developing countries to date research that could facilitate the success of renewable energy entrepreneurs in the world s developing regions has been fragmented across two main bodies of literature management specifically entrepreneurship and renewable energy by conducting a qualitative review of the extant literature i propose that the findings from both bodies of research may be distilled to six 6 key challenges inadequate access to institutional finance the price of renewable energy technologies rets the lack of skilled labour underdeveloped physical infrastructure and logistics power dominance of incumbents inadequate government or policy support through this research i not only advance a unified conceptualisation of the challenges faced by renewable energy entrepreneurs in developing countries but also highlight a number of the revealed opportunities for future research

imperfect competition risk taking and regulation in banking abstract we asses the welfare implications of banking competition under various deposit insurance regimes in a model of imperfect competition with social failure costs and where banks are subject to limited liability we study the links between competition for deposits and risk taking incentives and conclude that the welfare performance of the market and the appropriateness of alternative regulatory measures depend on the degree of rivalry and the deposit insurance regime specifically when competition is intense and the social failure costs high deposit rates are excessive both in a free market and with risk based insurance if insurance premiums are insensitive to risk then the same is true even if there is no social cost of failure we find also that in an uninsured market with nonobservable portfolio risk or with flat premium deposit insurance deposit regulation rate regulation or deposit limits and direct asset restrictions are complementary tools to improve welfare in an uninsured market with observable portfolio risk or with risk based insurance deposit regulation may be a sufficient instrument to improve welfare

regulatory reform in european banking abstract a stylized model of the role of banks in a context of imperfect financial markets where the potential for market failure exists is proposed the specificity of banking is analyzed and the need of regulation explained the study of regulatory responses highlights the importance of their associated side effects particular attention is devoted to the interaction of regulation and competition in a strategic context the effects of deregulation and european integration of financial markets on banking competition are dealt with in the proposed framework

three is a crowd exploring the potential of crowdfunding for renewable energy in the netherlands there is a huge gap between demand and supply of finance for energy transitions and the financial and economic crisis have had a negative impact in the already meagre funds for transforming the energy system towards renewable sources in this paper we explore whether crowdfunding for renewable energy as a novel sociotechnical practice developed in a niche has the potential to break through and transform both the energy and the financial regimes utilising the multi level perspective theory we empirically investigate crowdfunding platforms linked to renewable electricity projects in the netherlands the main conclusion is that the volume of crowdfunding today is low but the dynamic of these projects holds potential there is limited indication of learning processes until now as well as limited support from regime actors pointing at a low level of niche stabilization and break through potential which may however be related to the early stage of development of crowdfunding in the netherlands on the other hand the heterogeneity of crowdfunders is very promising platforms dedicated to renewable electricity exclusively and with an investment based business model seem to be the most successful we show how governmental market regulation and support mechanisms are shaping crowdfunding as a business model and discuss the implications for other countries

liquidity provision banking and the allocation of interest rate risk abstract the paper studies the efficient allocation of technology induced interest rate risk and the implications of such risk for efficient liquidity provision complete immunization against interest rate risk is shown to be undesirable as it precludes the exploitation of favourable reinvestment opportunities under the assumptions of diamond dybvig 1983 interest induced valuation risks of long term assets should be born by early withdrawers reinvestment opportunity risks of short term assets by late withdrawers efficient liquidity provision thus entails no shifting of interest rate risk in the absence of additional moral hazard second best allocations can be implemented through unregulated competition among banks

forest biorefineries a business opportunity for the finnish forest cluster abstract bioenergy and biomass based products offer the greatest new opportunities for diversifying business in the forest cluster in particular biorefineries which can be integrated into the pulp and paper industry seem to have immense future potential this article aims to explore the biorefinery concept and related new products and business operations as well as new business strategies and company models which are part of the biorefinery value chain these factors which contribute to the establishment and success of forest biorefineries were examined using internet survey responses and compared between scandinavia north america and south america this article looks at the results of the survey primarily from the finnish perspective to help identify competitive advantages upon which successful business operations in the finnish forest cluster can be built according to the survey the outlooks for technical and raw material choices as well as barriers to biorefinery diffusion are very similar in all the studied areas biorefineries and related energy products are considered the way to sustainably guarantee the forest cluster s success an increase in the price of oil motivates the development of forest biorefineries and wood based biofuels however it is obvious that there is a need to revaluate from a fresh perspective the utilisation of wood and the wood refining chain in the forest cluster the survey respondents consider wood based biofuel and chemical production a serious business opportunity for the forest cluster in finland there is a strong confidence in the production of biofuels however all the countries included in the study trust in their own national strengths and in their chance to be a leading actor in the forest biorefinery business worldwide the forest biorefinery business seems to have market potential and global competition can thus be expected

financial deregulation in france in the past few years an extraordinary amount of financial deregulation has taken place in france only as recently as 1983 the country was under tight capital controls faced a wide range of administered and cartelised interest rates possessed a relative sparsity of financial instruments and had its banks strapped in a credit corset or credit ceiling arrangement known as the encadrement du credit today there is only a vestige of the capital controls the only administered interest rates that remain concern bank deposits a host of new financial instruments has emerged and there is no encadrement banking is no longer the secure business that it used to be quite significantly the first bank failure since world war ii occurred in 1987 a few other have followed since commission bancaire 1989 a couple of french bankers put the matter nicely in a recent assessment henceforth the french banking apparatus will need to show that it can manage risks instead of regulations levy lang and henrot 1987 this paper will provide a quick guide to the deregulation why it happened and what took place in addition some of the basic questions posed by the deregulation will be raised for lack of space a fundamental knowledge of general french conditions prior to the deregulation will be taken for granted the reform took sail under the socialists in 1984 85 after a period of socialist advance into opposite waters toward bank nationalisation and further regulation although the liberahsation was presented as necessary to assure the survival of paris as a financial center in view of deregulation abroad the move looks much more like a deliberate choice we see this best by comparing france and germany the german domestic financial environment is a fairly regulated one but as a country with free capital movements and the leader of monetary policy in the european monetary system ems germany has seen little cause to deregulate its financial markets what pressure to liberalise it has felt has come from the european commission following the white paper on european financial integration in june 1985 on the other hand france as a country which required capital controls to steer an independent course in macroeconomic policy in the ems turned toward financial deregulation before the white paper appeared when economic historians look back at this important juncture in european

oil and entrepreneurship economic theory predicts that rents produced from natural resources especially oil and gas can increase opportunities for entrepreneurship but they may also reduce engagement in entrepreneurial activities as they change incentives towards rent seeking using global entrepreneurship monitor gem annual surveys this study provides empirical evidence that more per capita profit from oil and gas reduces entrepreneurship only in corrupt environments the more the corruption is the larger is the impact the results have important implications for policy makers especially in resource rich developing countries

world bank gef solar home systems projects experiences and lessons learned 1993 2000 abstract twelve projects provide energy services to off grid rural households in developing countries by enhancing markets for solar home systems and by removing barriers to their dissemination project approaches are reviewed along with early implementation experience and lessons suggested by experience most projects incorporate the following features pilot private sector and ngo delivery models pilot consumer credit delivery mechanisms pay first cost subsidies and offer affordable system sizes support policy development and capacity develop codes and standards and establish certification testing and enforcement institutions and conduct consumer awareness and marketing programs most projects are just beginning implementation a few are almost completed lessons from early experience suggest that solar home system delivery firms face a myriad of difficulties operating in rural areas credit risk is a serious concern of both financiers and dealers and makes credit sales particularly challenging technical performance of systems is becoming well proven customers desire a range of component options and service levels and can benefit from even small systems projects must recognize the link between rural electric grid extension and solar home system demand and marketing campaigns can be extremely costly and time consuming in rural areas challenges are to demonstrate sustainable and replicable business models develop regulatory models for energy service concessions and integrate rural electrification policy with solar home system delivery

the role of smart metering and decentralized electricity storage for smart grids the importance of positive externalities because of its fluctuating nature the feed in of renewable energy sources into low voltage distribution grids complicates the balancing of demand and supply this carries the risk of grid instabilities causing damage to electronic devices and power outages which eventually lead to deadweight losses in principle the problems arising from fluctuating feed in can be solved by increasing demand elasticity or decoupling generation and consumption for the first an advanced metering infrastructure and for the second decentralized electricity storage are considered core enablers however to date the diffusion of these future smart grids core components is low the present study provides new insights for understanding and overcoming diffusion barriers for this purpose a qualitative research approach was chosen the most important stakeholders as well as related private costs and benefits are identified the findings show that both of these smart grid components are widely considered beneficial to society by experts however because the numerous private benefits are widely distributed among distinct players socially desired investments are hampered by positive externalities the importance of well designed and consistent regulatory and legal frameworks that provide economic incentives to involved stakeholders is highlighted in the results

business model innovation in electricity supply markets the role of complex value in the united kingdom this research investigates the new opportunities that business model innovations are creating in electricity supply markets at the sub national scale these local supply business models can offer significant benefits to the electricity system but also generate economic social and environmental values that are not well accounted for in current policy or regulation this paper uses the uk electricity supply market to investigate new business models which rely on more complex value propositions than the incumbent utility model nine archetypal local supply business models are identified and their value propositions value capture methods and barriers to market entry are analysed this analysis defines complex value as a key concept in understanding business model innovation in the energy sector the process of complex value identification poses a challenge to energy researchers commercial firms and policymakers in liberalised markets to investigate the opportunities for system efficiency and diverse outcomes that new supplier business models can offer to the electricity system

business models for sustainable biofuel transport the potential for intermodal transport the use of solid wood biofuels for energy production in heating plants has increased drastically during the last decades great interest has been shown in replacing unsustainable road transport of wood fuel with more sustainable intermodal transport this paper maps the common business models for biofuel transport in sweden and suggests how these models may be developed to accommodate intermodal transport a view of the biofuel supply chain as five overlapping networks industry material operations transport and infrastructure connected by four transaction markets sourcing operations transport and traffic have been used four typical business models have been found regional national biofuel company local biofuel company heating plant own account and wood processing industry cooperation and vertical integration among the actors are important to reach the large transport volumes required for intermodal transport key issues to increase the intermodal potential are increased vertical integration and cooperation sharing of transport resources and infrastructure joint purchases outsourcing to expert actors building trust and open communication and not underestimating the complexity of intermodal transport the results have implications for any actor interested in developing intermodal transport or policy measures the contribution includes the new approach of developing business models by using the five layer network market model

responding to policy change new business models for renewable energy cooperatives barriers perceived by cooperatives members abstract renewable energy cooperatives recs in germany have received considerable attention in recent years their number having risen to nearly a thousand since 2004 this growth has resulted largely from germany s feed in tariff system recent changes in this policy however have made the previous rec business models mostly unprofitable so recs are looking for new business models our study aims at identifying those new models and characterizing the implementation barriers recs face to this end we interviewed rec members and management and observed rec annual general meetings we found three significant barriers first risk aversion on the part of both members and management second concerns about the environmental impacts or the ethics of certain models that while legal are not felt to align with the intentions of lawmakers finally the lack of competencies and time of the mostly unsalaried rec management these barriers could put the future of recs at risk and so threaten the contributions recs make to the german energy transition professionalization partnerships and other strategies can help mitigate this risk if recs are to continue to play an important role in the energy transition policy makers would be wise to consider measures to support their continued growth

the macroeconomic implications of financial deregulation abstract this paper explores the possible macroeconomic consequences of financial deregulation in an institutional environment where deregulation raises risks in banking the central bank is supposed to maximize an objective function in which the probability of bank failure is an argument it is then shown that the usual tradeoffs between policy objectives imply that financial deregulation will lead to more interest rate smoothing than would otherwise take place and further that because of restricted entry into banking deregulation will call for some inflation the transition toward deregulation raises special problems which are likely to require a more gradual approach toward the stationary equilibrium

how renewables will change electricity markets in the next five years photovoltaic pv cells onshore wind turbines internet technologies and storage technologies have the potential to fundamentally change electricity markets in the years ahead photovoltaic cells are the most disruptive energy technology as they allow consumers of all sizes to produce power by themselves new actors in the power market can begin operating with a new bottom up control logic unsubsidised pv markets may start to take off in 2013 fuelling substantial growth where pv power is getting cheaper than grid or diesel backup electricity for commercial consumers managing loads and achieving a good match between power consumption and weather dependent power production will likely become a key issue this consumption production balance may trigger massive innovation and investment in energy management technologies involving different kinds of storage and controls increasing autonomy and flexibility of consumers challenges the top down control logic of traditional power supply and pushes for a more decentralised and multi layered system how rapidly and smoothly this transformation occurs depends to a large extent on the adaptation speed of the regulatory framework and on the ability of market players to develop appropriate business models the paper discusses conflicts of interest hurdles and drivers opportunities and traps for this perspective

banking deregulation in europe banking deregulation ernst baltensperger and jean dermine deregulation of financial services is well under way in many european countries this has led to fears that economies are now more vulnerable to macroeconomic shocks the authors focus on one aspect of financial deregulation namely liberalization of the banking system they show that measures such as the abolition of reserve requirements increase macroeconomic variability under some circumstances but reduce it under others no general macroeconomic case can be made for banking regulation or for its liberalization analysis of microeconomic issues is more fruitful asymmetric information and the risks of contagion in a panic can lead to runs against the banking system to the extent that these are socially inefficient public intervention may be justified this presumption is stronger since the risks of bank runs have grown recently with the increased maturity mismatch the finance of illiquid loans by liquid short term deposits to meet this danger the authors recommend regulation of deposit contracts whilst preserving incentives for bank monitoring by private parties specifically they propose an ex post liability of current and former depositors when banks default thereby offsetting the incentive to withdraw funds at the onset of a crisis being quick off the mark would no longer be sufficient and sophisticated depositors would press for greater disclosure and fuller monitoring of bank activities the authors also recommend that remaining controls on deposit interest rates should be scrapped and that supervision of international banking should be cooperatively conducted by host and parent authorities

replication of industrial ecosystems the case of a sustainable biogas for traffic solution abstract distributed energy systems are key in building a sustainable energy economy biofuels are an example of an industry that needs to be based on a system of rather small scale local production units due to the limited transportation radius of biomass moreover the benefits of biofuels are greater if their production is based on the integration of local production activities and consumption among traditionally separate industries as implied by the notion of industrial symbiosis such an arrangement however requires the establishment of industrial ecosystems that are customised to local conditions which increases costs and uncertainty for the involved stakeholders and the integrating company in this paper we discuss replication strategy as a means of transferring not only technical knowledge but also the business format to new locations thereby achieving economies of repetition the case of a biogas for traffic solution serves as an illustrative example we analyse the establishment of a vanguard ecosystem and assess the potential of replicating the solution in six other locations based on this we propose a replication framework that builds on functional modularisation collaboration mechanisms required for cooperating with the relevant stakeholders and organisational learning the replication approach is expected to be useful for the companies attempting to build sustainable distributed energy systems based on industrial symbiosis

an innovatory package for financial sector reforms in eastern european countries abstract this essay sees reform of the financial sector as the key to successful transition to a market economy the analysis generates the following practical proposals first the central bank should be endowed with strong independence accumulating the deposit insurance supervisory and lender of last resort functions second the central bank should host the payments system and impose gross settlement without credit lines in excess of required reserve balances it should also impose suitable capital requirements for credit exposure third universal banking should be accepted to improve corporate governance and to make a well functioning capital market less necessary fourth to reduce moral hazard and provide maximum flexibility an innovatory multi tier bank licensing is proposed fifth when government cannot borrow from the central bank borrowing will contribute to the development of securities markets whose other two pillars are privatisation and mortgage financing to alleviate the burden on public finance and maximise liquidity perpetuals assorted with suitable calls and puts are proposed

comparing drivers barriers and opportunities of business models for renewable energies a review abstract this article systematically reviews the emerging field of research on business models for renewable energies differentiating between developing and industrialized countries the key findings on developing countries are as follows first there is a lack of quantitative data second opportunities are driven primarily by unfulfilled basic needs and micro finance whereas corruption and weak electricity grids are the main barriers and third business models should be replicable the key findings on industrialized countries are as follows first opportunities are driven primarily by climate change mitigation and energy efficiency improvements second stuck thought patterns and high costs of energy storage are important barriers and third cooperation is a key in future business models to handle increasing complexity this review reveals implications for researchers and policy makers promising avenues for future research are the analysis of intermodal business models and opportunities concerning energy self supply and renewable district heating policy makers are advised to design legal frameworks that account for the global nature of the renewable energy challenge and are simultaneously adapted to regional disparities

the relationship between distribution and market share this paper develops an aggregate level model of distribution and market share for frequently purchased branded consumer goods that is founded in the concepts of push and pull the model makes a key distinction between uncompromised and compromised demand as sources of market share uncompromised demand is demand that is satisfied when the preferred brand is found compromised demand results from brands that lack broad distribution and whose potential customers are willing to compromise and purchase another brand when the preferred brand is not present trade behavior is also addressed by analyzing the effects of consumer demand feedback on the trade s decision to stock and merchandise the brand compromised demand and feedback effects may be critical and often overlooked determinants of market share under a variety of model assumptions analytical results are consistent with longitudinal and cross sectional evidence that market share is a convex function of distribution increasing at an increasing rate up to 100 percent distribution in addition to these insights we believe that the model has promise for future normative work on balancing push and pull marketing effects

the effects of advertising prices and distribution on market share volatility although the influence of marketing decision variables on market share has received ample attention in the literature less is known about their effects on volatility this study attempts to shed light on this issue by empirically examining the effects of advertising pricing and distribution not only on market share but also on its volatility using an egarch model we argue that establishing a link between management controlled actions such as advertising pricing and distribution and market share volatility may benefit firms seeking to reduce uncertainty in their market share performance application of the proposed model to data on two markets suvs and minivans suggested that advertising pricing and distribution significantly influence market share volatility

business structure in renewable energy industry key areas abstract diffusion of renewable energy utilization is difficult because of its entrepreneurial nature and related technological investment political and market uncertainties therefore evaluation of business structure based on traditional business models is difficult in this industry although many countries have actively developed renewable energy technologies by both governments and private sector business professionals are not still assured about participation and investment understanding the areas of business structure that lead to successful commercialization of renewable technologies has suitable research scope in this industry the objective of this article is to identify key areas of business structure to allow newcomers to enter successfully in the renewable energy industry from engineering policy and business aspects the innovative analysis leads to identification of seven sides of renewable energy business