Abstract

I examine the outcomes of cases of entry by merchant shipping lines into established markets around the turn of the century. These established markets are completely dominated by an incumbent cartel composed of several member shipping lines. The cartel makes the decision whether or not to begin a price war against the entrant; some entrants are formally admitted to the cartel without any conflict. I use characteristics of the entrant to predict whether or not the entrant will encounter a price war conditional on entering. I find that weaker entrants are fought, where weaker means less financial resources, experience, size, or poor trade conditions. The empirical results provide support for the long purse theory of predation. I discuss qualitative evidence such as predatory intent expressed in correspondence between cartel members which supports the empirical results. The results are also found to be robust to misclassification of the dependent variable which is a particular concern when dealing with historical data.

Abstract

Mobility innovations are deeply ingrained in societies, enabling us to perform certain actions and movements, which are essential for participating in the hyper-connected world (Hannam, Sheller, Urry; 2006). These innovations can be considered political as they unevenly allow various means and comfort of access to different societal groups. According to dominant policy frameworks, these groups (target groups) should be equally treated in policy as they share similarities. However, this is not the case according to the social construction and policy design framework. Policy-making (implicitly) differentiates between groups with the same characteristics by distributing to these different burdens and benefits, or wins and losses. This generates normative concerns of democracy, inclusion, and justice. In this research, we reflect on how social, technological, economic, and environmental wins and losses are distributed among target groups, and how these processes raise questions of the political nature of innovation. Current research on social construction in policy has focused on social policy, specifically in the areas of health and welfare (see Ingram, Schneider, Deleon; 2007). The role of science and technology, however, has been largely ignored. Hence, drawing from the Science and Technology Studies (STS), we demonstrate that considering the way in which specific technological innovations enable actors to perform certain actions within society, is essential for understanding the process of construction of target groups. Furthermore, STS insights enable us to reflect on (implicit) technical and social exclusion of user groups through innovation designs, or non-consideration in innovation policy (see e.g. Wyatt et al., 2002). We draw on different disciplines to explore a new field of smart mobility, which is arguably reshaping current transport policy domain. Smart mobility is leading to the emergence of mobility target groups, such as drivers of electric vehicles. This also generates new wins and losses for the groups. Furthermore, smart mobility is gaining increasing attention because it comes with great promises about solving societal issues such as congestion and air pollution. However, through the processes of excluding some target groups, smart mobility may fail to solve social challenges in an inclusive way. As an emerging policy domain, smart mobility is confined to a forward-looking policy agenda and we are interested in reflecting on what role STS could play in guiding more inclusive innovation policies. Empirically we focus on Smart Mobility policy in The Netherlands. Specifically, the Beter Benutten program regions of Maastricht and Brabant. This program aims to reduce traffic congestion by 20% and door-to-door travel time by 10%, by optimizing existing infrastructure usage and by improving mobility network interconnections (Tweede Kamer der Staten-Generaal, 2011). Using research methods based on the document analysis and semi-structured interviews, we show how this roadmap distributes wins and losses among (smart) mobility user groups.

Abstract

mospheric emissions from road transport have increased all around the world during the last decades more rapidly than from other pollution sources. For instance, they contribute to more than 25% of total CO, CO2, NOx, and fine particle emissions in most of the European countries. This situation shows the importance of road transport when complying with emission ceilings and air quality standards applied to these pollutants. This paper presents a modelling system to perform atmospheric emission projections (simultaneously both air quality pollutants and greenhouse gases) from road transport including the development of a tailored software tool (EmiTRANS) as a planning tool. The methodology has been developed with two purposes: 1) to obtain outputs used as inputs to the COPERT4 software to calculate emission projections and 2) to summarize outputs for policy making evaluating the effect of emission abatement measures for a vehicle fleet. This methodology has been applied to the calculation of emission projections in Spain up to 2020 under several scenarios, including a sensitivity analysis useful for a better interpretation and confidence building on the results. This case study demonstrates the EmiTRANS applicability to a country, and points out the need for combining both technical and non-technical measures (such as behavioural changes or demand management) to reduce emissions, indirectly improving air quality and contributing to mitigate climate change. Document type: Article

Abstract

Multi-product pipelines are a significant and extensive mean of transporting petroleum based products from refineries to distribution centers. Previous contributions on tree-like pipeline scheduling problem have considered a simple structure with a single refinery connected to a mainline and some secondary lines only emerged from the mainline. In practice, however, a tree-like pipeline may also have several branches on a secondary line resulting in a complex structure, the so called multi-level tree-like pipeline. This paper addresses the short-term scheduling of multi-level tree-like pipelines with multiple refineries through a continuous time mixed-integer linear programming (MILP) model that considers multiple intermediate due dates for product demands. The objective is to satisfy product demands on time at the minimum operational costs, such as pumping, interface and backorder costs. The proposed model performance’s is shown by solving four examples. Document type: Article

Abstract

The transition toward a sustainable transportation system in the Netherlands takes place in the context of the Dutch “Transition management policy framework”. We study four tech¬nological routes that the “Platform Sustainable Mobility” has selected for this goal: (1) hybridization of vehicles, (2) liquid biofuels, (3) natural gas as a transportation fuel and (4) hydrogen as a transportation fuel. These technological routes all envision large-scale changes in vehicle propulsion technology and fuel infrastructure. Furthermore, they compete for the scarce resources available to invest in new (fuel) infrastructures, which implicates that these ‘transition paths’ are also interdependent at the level of the mobility system. The main outcome of the analysis is the identification of barriers that are currently blocking the transition toward sustainable mobility. Barriers are classified as being related to (1) technology and vehicle development, (2) the availability of (fuel) infrastructures, and (3) elements of the institutional infrastructure. The transition management framework currently misses guidelines for coping with (competing) technologies that each requires large infrastructural investments. We further argue that avoiding undesired lock-ins and creating a beneficial institutional context for sustainable mobility cannot be pursued at the transition path level. Therefore, we recommend that a more systemic approach should be taken to the tran¬si¬tion to sustainable mobility, in which the inter¬dependencies between the transition paths are critically assessed and in which the possibilities to legitimize sustainable mobility as a whole should be used.

Abstract

This article will summarise the results of The Netherlands pilot study commissioned by the Dutch Ministry of Housing, Spatial Planning and the Environment, and carried out by the Dutch National Institute of Public Health and the Environment (RIVM). This pilot study differed from existing sustainable transport scenario studies for four reasons: (i) very sharp emission reductions are assumed, (ii) not only 'forecasting' but also 'backcasting' scenarios are constructed, (iii) instrument packages and implementation time paths are described which - if carried out - would result in the necessary technological and behavioural changes to realize environmentally sustainable transport, and (iv) the social and economic impact of sustainable transport is assessed.

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

Within the Dutch transition policy framework, the transition to hydrogen-based transport is seen as a promising option towards a sustainable transport system. This transition requires the build-up of a hydrogen infrastructure as a certain level of refuelling infrastructure is necessary before (even the most innovative or environmentally friendly) consumers will substitute their conventional car for a hydrogen vehicle (Dunn 2002). This is often referred to as the chicken-and-egg problem of infrastructure development. However, the build-up of infrastructure is costly and irreversible and it is therefore important for policymakers to gain insight in the minimally required levels of initial infrastructure that will still set off the transition. In this paper we therefore present a diffusion model for the analysis of the effects of different strategies for hydrogen infrastructure development on hydrogen vehicle fleet penetration. Within the simulation model, diffusion patterns for hydrogen vehicles were created through the interactions of consumers, refuelling stations and technological learning. We compare our results to the benchmark patterns derived from the hydrogen roadmap. The strategies for initial infrastructure development differ with respect to the placement (urban or nationwide) and the number of initial refuelling stations. Simulation results indicate that when taking social learning between consumers into account, diffusion is generally lower than in the benchmark patterns. Furthermore, simulation results indicate that a nationwide deployment strategy generally leads to faster diffusion of hydrogen vehicles than a strategy focused on urban areas. These demand side aspects of the transition to sustainable mobility are considered especially important in the Netherlands since besides the high cost associated with infrastructure investment the Netherlands do not have a domestic car industry so that policy measures will most likely focus on infrastructure and consumers. Increased insights in the relation between infrastructure development strategies and hydrogen vehicle diffusion are thus necessary to further manage the transition to sustainable mobility.