Abstract: Road pricing or road user charging may be understood as an economic concept regarding direct charges applied for using roads. Different pricing paradigms may be distinguished mainly refering to pricing of congested, non-expandable urban networks as well as pricing of expandable, uncongested (principally, interurban) road infrastructure. Numerous technologies within Intelligent Transport Systems can provide support in efficiently applying various charging mechanisms. Recently, among others, tolling systems have been deployed that rely on the Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS). The purpose of this paper is to discuss the state-of-the-art of using GNSS technology in road user charging.

Abstract: The modern business environment is characterized by intense competition, which has led telecommunication companies to a continuous race towards gaining and maintaining a competitive advantage. In order to succeed, telecommunication companies "cultivate" market orientation and market oriented cultures as non-imitable characteristics, capable to ensure long---term corporate viability and growth. This paper provides an insight into the Greek telecommunication industry by: a) revealing the coordination between market orientation strategies with corresponding culture, b) the relationship between extrovert-type cultures with performance and c) how special traits of telecommunication providers (size and age) influence the degree of market orientation and the dominant culture type (introvert or extrovert). The paper contributes: a) to the creation of national cultural profile in the telecommunication industry, which can become a starting point in a wider trial to create a European industry profile, b) to the empirical testing of the correlation between culture and market orientation and c) to the examination of the extent to which background factors (such as firms' age and size) should be taken into account during the implementation of a business strategy.

Abstract: In this article, we consider houses belonging to an eco-neighborhood in which inhabitants have the capacity to optimize dynamically the energy demand and the energy storage level so as to maximize their utility. The inhabitants’ preferences are characterized by their sensitivity toward comfort versus price, the optimal expected temperature in the house, thermal loss and heating efficiency of their house. At his level, the eco-neighborhood manager shares the resource produced by the eco-neighborhood according to two schemes: an equal allocation between the houses and a priority based one. The problem is modeled as a stochastic game and solved using stochastic dynamic programming. We simulate the energy consumption of the eco-neighborhood under various pricing mechanisms: flat rate, peak and off-peak hour, blue/white/red day, peak day clearing and a dynamic update of the price based on the consumption of the eco-neighborhood. We observe that economic incentives for houses to store energy depend deeply on the implemented pricing mechanism and on the homogeneity in the houses’ characteristics. Furthermore, when prices are based on the consumption of the eco-neighborhood, storage appears as a compensation for the errors made by the service provider in the prediction of the consumption of the eco-neighborhood.

Abstract: The study probes cointegration and Granger causality between telephone connections and economic activity for India using annual data for the time span 1980---81 to 2006---07. Empirical results fail to establish any cointegrating relationship among the variables. The heterogeneity of penetration within different states of the country and within the time period of analysis may explain the lack of a long term relationship among the variables. The study, however, establishes short-run unidirectional Granger causality running from telephone connections to economic growth signifying the strategic importance of telecommunications for the Indian growth story. It re-enforces the urgency of initiatives aimed at providing universal telephone and data connectivity to the entire population. To study the behavior of variables out of the sample period, generalized impulse response paths due to the various shocks to the system are studied. The findings are that GDP responds positively to a one-time shock in telephone connections but returns to its initial levels after 4 years. The study discusses the possible reasons behind the empirical findings and concludes with a discussion of policy prescriptions to augment telephone connectivity in India.

Abstract: This study examines the relative competitiveness of online and physical bookstores. Online bookstores have the advantage of being able to provide a wide range of books while minimizing inventory costs, but customers must wait several days for their books. Physical bookstores allow consumers to immediately obtain their books, but consumers must pay a transportation cost to visit the store. We can find the condition such that online bookstores charge a lower price than physical bookstores and take a larger market share, and attract a higher proportion of consumers who prefer variety. The implication of the welfare analysis is also discussed.

Abstract: In this note we describe an iterative procedure of how to estimate unit costs per leg of a public service obligation (PSO) route network if certain data is publicly available. The aim of this approach is to make judgments in benchmarking and in regulation if revenues, costs and profits (or losses) per flight and its distribution among these route networks are typical compared to carriers serving networks under a competitive regime. Particularly this note aims to set a reference for the question, if market or bargaining powers are abused and to which extent. This work is thus especially important for PSO cases where a particular network cannot be operated in a profitable manner; therefore, its routes are offered to monopoly providers in a bidding competition and (in most cases) the service needs to be publicly subsidized. We shall apply the procedure on origin-destination matrices from tender documents published by the Norwegian Ministry of Transport and Communications. The Ministry covers incurred losses produced by the bidding and winning carrier. As a first result we can observe that the PSO allocations show indications of an inefficient allocation process reflected in more than three-fold quoted costs on PSO routes above estimated market levels.

Abstract: Addressed in this paper is an information-theoretics inspired econometric approach to evolve a forecast model on the growth profiles of telecommunication services. It includes cohesively, both the profile of user-economics as well as the technological framework of service providers; and the forecasting suite is built on the basis of information-theoretics considerations. It refers to a modified Fisher-Kaysen method that accounts for "free-market" principles and uses entropy (stochastic) details of differential changes in the short-run (state) variables of the growth function. Further, the principle of proportional fairness is appropriately invoked and the heuristics of users' willingness-to-pay for the network resources allocated to them is presumed. A few simulation examples using real-world data are furnished to validate the forecast algorithm developed. The computed results on forecasting presented depict a "cone-of-forecast" in the ex ante regime of the examples considered. Relevance of this method to modern aspects of managerial approach and market penetration vis-a-vis forecast trends is indicated. Shortcomings of the method are identified.

Abstract: This paper deals with the economics of a closed-loop supply chain and the decision-making in a hybrid manufacturing system. We develop analytic models and quantify the potential profits gain generated by such a hybrid system that collects, remanufactures, and remarkets the end-of-use products as perfect substitutes of brand-new products while facing a price-dependent demand function. The research objective behind developing analytic models is to investigate the following research questions: Can the hybrid system incorporating reverse logistics operate cost-effectively? Can it outperform the manufacturing-only system without reverse logistics? If not, does it persist in certain decision bias that leads to a lower profit and inefficiency? If yes, to what extent and under which conditions--lower remanufacturing cost or higher price sensitivity coefficients? We model the decision-making of the system as an appropriate optimization problem. Our analysis shows that the hybrid system does not outperform the manufacturing-only counterpart under generic settings; it only performs better under the condition with a higher price sensitivity coefficient and/or a lower remanufacturing cost. In addition, the pricing decisions for the brand-new and remanufactured products differ significantly, which is consistent with the industrial practice. In addition, numerical results suggest that it may be worth adopting such a hybrid strategy when the remanufacturing cost is low, in comparison with that of the new product manufacturing. Another favorable factor to adopt the hybrid strategy is higher completion intensity between the two versions of the same product. In such scenarios, participating in remanufacturing operations is not only an issue of being environmentally conscious but a profit-improving opportunity.