Abstract

Shared mobility—the shared use of a vehicle, bicycle, or other mode—is an innovative transportation strategy that enables users to gain short-term access to transportation modes on an “as-needed” basis. Shared mobility includes various forms of carsharing, bikesharing, ridesharing, on-demand ride services, and microtransit. Additionally, smartphone and mobile “apps” aggregate and optimize these mobility services and are critical to many shared mobility modes. Courier network services connect couriers using their personal vehicles or bicycles with freight and seek to disrupt the existing package and food delivery industry. The emergence of automated vehicles into shared mobility could further transform the passenger and freight transportation system, with greater emphasis on shared mobility. This chapter describes the different models that have emerged in the shared mobility space and reviews research that has quantified the environmental, social, and transportation-related impacts of these services. The authors also project future trends as automated vehicles begin to emerge.

Abstract

Carsharing continues to grow worldwide as a powerful strategy to provide an alternative to solo driving. The viability of electric vehicles, or EVs, has been exam-ined in various carsharing business models. Moreover, new technologies have given rise to electromobility, or e-mobility, systems. This paper discusses the evolution of e-mobility in carsharing business models and the challenges and opportunities that EVs present to carsharing operators around the world. Operators are now anticipating in-creased EV proliferation into vehicle fleets over the next 5-10 years as technology, infrastructure, and public policy shift toward support of e-mobility systems. Thus, re-search is still needed to quantify impacts of EVs in changing travel behavior toward more sustainable transport.

Abstract

Climate change and global resource shortages have led to rethinking traditional individual mobility services based on combustion engines. As the consequence of technological improvements, the first electric vehicles are now being introduced and greater market penetration can be expected. But any wider implementation of battery-powered electrical propulsion systems in the future will give rise to new challenges for both the traditional automotive industry and other new players, e.g. battery manufacturers, the power supply industry and other service providers. Different application cases of electric vehicles are currently being discussed which means that numerous business models could emerge, leading to new shares in value creation and involving new players. Consequently, individual stakeholders are uncertain about which business models are really effective with regard to targeting a profitable overall concept. Therefore, this paper aims to define a holistic approach to developing business models for electric mobility, which analyzes the system as a whole on the one hand and provides decision support for affected enterprises on the other. To do so, the basic elements of electric mobility are considered and topical approaches to business models for various stakeholders are discussed. The paper concludes by presenting a systemic instrument for business models based on morphological methods.

Abstract

The operation of public and semi-public charging infrastructure is often not profitable yet. However, the integration of charging infrastructure in microgrids enables the introduction of innovative business models, e.g. by local renewable energy generation and storage units. Another driver to improve profitability is to adapt the charging infrastructure expansion according to its usage characteristics. This study presents a method to optimize the charging infrastructure expansion. Therefore, a mixed integer linear program with the aim to minimize costs is formulated and applied on real-world data. Via the optimization, different scenarios are developed and the microgrid integration is simulated in an operation optimization algorithm. Different business models such as PV and battery storage integration are computed and the economics of the business models in the different scenarios are evaluated. It can be concluded that microgrid integration can be a significant driver of charging infrastructure operation profitability. Integrating PV generation shortens the payback period in all scenarios. Also, PV generation and battery storage combined improve profitability, but not to the same extent than without storage unit. Furthermore, the optimization of the charging infrastructure expansion leads to a significant improvement of profitability. Combining both the microgrid integration, as well as the expansion optimization, the payback period can be decreased by up until 67 %.

Abstract

Cooperative systems which rely on vehicle-to-infrastructure communications are designed to tackle important road"br" transport issues, such as safety and pollution. Since the associated monetary commitment is substantial, a clear"br" understanding of the appropriate business models and likely costs, impacts and benefits is necessary before"br" investment decisions can be made. A tool for estimating the costs and benefits, from both business and the societal"br" point of view, was developed in the COBRA+ project, to assist National Road Authorities (NRA) during their"br" decision processes. This paper illustrates the application of the tool to use cases in Austria, England and the"br" Netherlands. The study identifies some of the key aspects to focus on in order to achieve a beneficial balance"br" between costs and positive impacts. Findings reveal that the costs are likely to be higher than the monetised benefits"br" over the time period investigated (to 2030). The financial role of the NRA (or their Road Operator) is particularly"br" influential for the business case.

Abstract

International audience; Sustainable technologies challenge prevailing business practices, especially in industries that depend heavily on the use of fossil fuels. Firms are therefore in need of business models that transform the specific characteristics of sustainable technologies into new ways to create economic value and overcome the barriers that stand in the way of their market penetration. A key issue is the respective impact of incumbent and entrepreneurial firms' path-dependent behaviour on the development of such new business models. Embedded in the literature on business models, this paper explores how incumbent and entrepreneurial firms' path dependencies have affected the evolution of business models for electric vehicles. Based on a qualitative analysis of electric vehicle projects of key industry players over a five-year period (2006-2010), the paper identifies four business model archetypes and traces their evolution over time. Findings suggest that incumbent and entrepreneurial firms approach business model innovation in distinctive ways. Business model evolution shows a series of incremental changes that introduce service-based components, which were initially developed by entrepreneurial firms, to the product. Over time there seems to be some convergence in the business models of incumbents and entrepreneurs in the direction of delivering economy multi-purpose vehicles.

Abstract

The creation of media by journalists has seen a strong increase in Spain in recent years in tandem with the crisis experienced within the news sector. This phenomenon, known as entrepreneurial journalism, is a case of innovation within the field of information. The aim of this paper is to critically examine the contributions of entrepreneurial journalism in the fields of information, labor, and business; examine its socio-political effects; and its chances of consolidation. To do this, the challenges it faces to ensure survival are analyzed.

Abstract

This text explores opportunities for research libraries in the current context of transition to a gold open access model. First, political and organizational considerations are discussed, drawing directly from proposals presented at the recent Berlin 12 Open Access Conference and the unavoidable disagreements in the international open access community about the implementation of this large-scale open access model. Second, we discuss some of the areas where further work is required in order to support the transition to gold open access. Based on the experience implementing the EC/OpenAIRE FP7 Post-Grant Open Access Pilot, three specific areas are described where research libraries need to focus their attention: familiarization with research projects that are being done at their institution, participation in a joint effort to tackle predatory publishing, and intervention in the academic publishing cycle at an earlier stage.