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Opportunities and Challenges in Sustainability
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Opportunities and Challenges in Sustainability (OCS)
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ISSN (print): 2957-7217
ISSN (online): 2957-9643
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2023: Vol. 2
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Opportunities and Challenges in Sustainability (OCS) is a peer-reviewed, open access academic journal on the benefits, problems, and solutions of sustainable development, and the related fields. It is published quarterly by Acadlore. The publication dates of the four issues usually fall in March, June, September, and December each year.

  • Professional service - All articles submitted go through rigorous yet rapid peer review and editing, following the strictest publication standards.

  • Fast publication - All articles accepted are quickly published, thanks to our expertise in organizing peer-review, editing, and production.

  • Open access - All articles published are immediately available to global audience, and freely sharable anywhere, anytime.

  • Additional benefits - All articles accepted enjoy free English editing, and face no length limit or color charges.

Editor(s)-in-chief(2)
ercan özen
University of Uşak, Uşak, Turkey
ercan.ozen@usak.edu.tr | website
Research interests: Financial Analysis; Corporate Finance; Finance; Financial Accounting; Financial Statement Analysis; Financial Management; Banking and Finance; Financial Risk Management; Investment; Risk Management
rui alexandre castanho
WSB University, Poland
acastanho@wsb.edu.pl | website
Research interests: Tourist Behavior; Environment and Development; Sustainable/responsible Tourism; Landscape Architecture; GIS; Cross-border Cooperation; Sustainable Rural Development; Strategic Sustainable Tourism; Policy Making; Urban and Regional Planning

Aims & Scope

Aims

Opportunities and Challenges in Sustainability (OCS) (ISSN 2957-7217) is an international open access journal for scientists, practitioners, and policy makers interested in the pathways toward sustainable development of human beings. The mission of OCS is to publish the latest findings on the benefits, problems, and solutions of sustainable development, and inspire policy-makers to achieve sustainable development goals. We welcome original submissions in various forms, including reviews, regular research papers, and short communications as well as Special Issues on particular topics. The journal provides a global forum for studies related to sustainability in all countries and regions in the world, especially the emerging countries.

The aim of OCS is to encourage scientists to publish their theoretical and experimental results in as much detail as possible. Therefore, the journal has no restrictions regarding the length of papers. Full details should be provided so that the results can be reproduced. In addition, the journal has the following features:

  • Authors from emerging countries enjoy the same high-quality services as those from the developed world.
  • The published papers have maximum exposure under our open access policy.
  • The publication process is author-friendly and transparent.

Scope

The scope of the journal covers, but is not limited to the following topics:

  • Air pollution and climate change
  • Biodiversity preservation
  • Disaster management
  • Distributed energy systems
  • Drought and desertification
  • Dynamics in urban and rural areas
  • Ecological disasters and environmental degradation
  • Economic, social and environmental challenges
  • Education and awareness of sustainability
  • Efficient utilization of energy
  • Environmental regulation
  • Green energy
  • Life cycle assessment
  • Peripheral and ultra-peripheral regions studies on sustainability
  • Policies for sustainable development
  • Sustainable environments in cities
  • Sustainable planning in border regions
  • Sustainable production and consumption
  • Sustainable resource utilization
  • Tourism sustainability
  • Urban sprawl and population growth
  • Waste recycling
  • Water pollution and treatment
  • Sustainability in Education
  • Sustainability in Business
  • Sustainability in Marketing
  • Sustainability in Growth
  • Sustainability in Economics
Articles
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Abstract

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In the quest to achieve Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), health economics and the financing of health expenditures emerge as pivotal elements. This literature-based exploration delves into the intricate nexus between health financing and sustainable development. Interpretations of pertinent data tables suggest that the financing level of health services at the household level is typically below the global average, indicating a prominent gap in health financing development. Specifically, Turkey's stance on health financing is evaluated against global benchmarks, highlighting its unique challenges and opportunities. This research underscores the intrinsic relationship between health financing and sustainable development, emphasizing the imperative for ongoing evaluation and enhancement in this domain to foster sustainable progression. Notably, the study refrains from employing statistical methodologies, relying solely on literature assessments and data table interpretations. Health financing, pivotal to sustainable development, invariably demands continual advancements and research.

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Using panel data from 30 Chinese provinces spanning 2003-2019, the relationship between trade openness and haze pollution, moderated by environmental regulation, was investigated through spatial econometric models. It was observed that the effect of trade openness on haze pollution was negative, albeit insignificant, suggesting that trade openness alone did not markedly influence haze reduction in China. Contrarily, environmental regulation, while intensifying haze pollution, displayed a significant moderating role. When combined with environmental regulations, trade openness showed potential in mitigating haze pollution, thus enhancing environmental quality. Although trade openness did not display significant regional variance in its impact on haze pollution, considerable regional disparities were found in the effects of environmental regulation on haze pollution and its moderating influence on the trade openness-haze pollution relationship.

Open Access
Research article
Digital Transformation and Its Implications on Educational Quality: An Empirical Analysis Within the European Union Context
mirela cristea ,
graţiela georgiana noja ,
teodora andreea găinaru ,
catrinel delia tălăban
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Available online: 09-05-2023

Abstract

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In the face of profound digital transformations, the societal and economic landscape has undergone significant shifts, notably impacting the educational sector across European Union (EU) member states. Through the employment of robust regression models, employing both Huber and biweight iterations, data spanning 1995-2021 were analyzed. The focus was on the relationship between the Education Index (EI) (a component of the Human Development Index (HDI)) and the Global Innovation Index (GINNOV). Results from this analysis suggest that an increase in internet usage, global innovation levels, and poverty alleviation measures have been found to positively influence the EI. Concurrently, positive correlations between internet usage, the contribution of the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) sector to GDP, employment rates, and the EI on global innovation levels were observed. Interestingly, adverse correlations were detected between household internet access and the ICT sector's GDP contribution to the EI, and between internet access and high-speed internet coverage with global innovation. Such findings underline the need for strategic interventions within the education sector, which are elaborated upon in the article.

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This study presents a comprehensive evaluation of environmental susceptibility associated with the development of the Belgrade-Novi Sad Railway Route in Serbia. Fostering socio-economic growth through transportation infrastructure necessitates an acute awareness of potential ecological implications, a nexus often overlooked in the haste of progress. Accordingly, a broad spectrum of environmental parameters such as land use, air and noise pollution, water resources, and biodiversity were systematically assessed. The employment of Habitat Equivalency Analysis facilitated the discernment of potential environmental detriments linked with the railway project. Significant findings from this investigation offer critical insights for policymakers, urban planners, and environmental conservationists, thus enriching the understanding of ecological consequences attached to the expansion of the specified railway corridor. These findings, serving as a tool for informed decision-making, are pivotal in striving towards a balanced approach between the exigencies of transportation infrastructure enhancement and the indispensable goal of environmental preservation. Ultimately, the goal of this study is to promote an enhanced understanding of the reciprocal relationship between infrastructure development and environmental impact, thereby contributing to the ongoing discourse on sustainable practices beneficial for current and future generations.

Abstract

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Recent trends indicate a deceleration in the growth of insurance markets in developed countries, whereas emerging insurance markets, predominantly in Southeast Asia, and led by China, demonstrate a remarkable increase in total gross premiums. This contrast, largely attributed to digitalization of insurance operations, underscores the need for understanding and integrating technological innovations within the insurance industry. Faced with emerging risks such as climate change, natural disasters, epidemics, pandemics, and cyber threats, insurance companies must implement proactive risk prevention strategies alongside enhancing their risk mitigation instruments. Utilizing comprehensive, country-specific alert systems can aid in evaluating risk profiles and managing the emergent risks more efficiently. While Serbia's efforts towards digital transformation in the insurance sector are still budding, there remains a significant potential for growth and introduction of innovative insurance products. However, the lack of adequate preventive measures against risks such as natural disasters has hampered its full development potential in sectors like agriculture and tourism. On the other hand, China's approach to managing natural disaster risks through robust institutional support and an innovative insurance market offers valuable insights. This study aims to highlight the significant challenges posed by modern trends in the insurance industry, emphasizing the case of China, and suggesting ways for insurance companies to respond to these challenges. Moreover, it assesses the readiness of the Serbian insurance market in managing natural disaster risks and provides a roadmap for the integration of technology within the insurance sector.

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This study investigates the potential of certification as a driving force for sustainable development in the Hindu-Kush-Himalaya (HKH) region, characterized by its unique high-altitude ecosystems, rich biodiversity, and susceptibility to climate change. Focusing on small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) within the tourism, renewable energy, and agriculture sectors, the research emphasizes their critical role in the region's economic growth and livelihoods. Nonetheless, the implementation of certification in the HKH region encounters several obstacles, including constrained resources, regulatory barriers, financial accessibility, and limited marketing capabilities. By examining certification initiatives in Bhutan and Nepal, such as organic certification and energy labeling, this study elucidates the advantages and challenges associated with both mandatory and voluntary certification schemes. To address these concerns, the establishment of an HKH Standards and Certification Council is proposed. This Council would facilitate the development and adoption of credible certification and accreditation processes, thereby promoting sustainability and energy efficiency throughout the region. By supporting SMEs, fostering collaboration, and ensuring the relevance, accessibility, and efficacy of standards for small businesses, the HKH Standards and Certification Council could significantly contribute to the sustainable development of the HKH region.

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Purpose of this research is to identify the nature of loyalty, the valence/dimensionality of this concept, and the factors that determine customers of banking products/services in the Republic of Moldova to establish long-term relationships with the bank and remain loyal to it, thereby proposing targeted measures the banks could take to keep their customers. Online survey data of 363 customers of financial-banking products/services in the country was extracted, counted, and analyzed, and the statistical results reveal that loyalty to a banking service is similar to that in interpersonal relationships, and bank-client relationships can generate friendships or even lasting partnerships over time due to proper behavior. Based on analysis results, this paper identifies manifestations of loyalty, figures out factors for developing loyalty and trusting relationships and for improving customer attitude, and innovatively proposes a few suggestions for financial institutions to formulate customer loyalty problems and develop long-term relationships with their customers, including measuring customer loyalty level to identify genuinely loyal customers, ensuring the bank’s efforts to build customer loyalty is recognized in the entire institution, relating the value of each customer to the value of rewards provided in the loyalty program, and rewarding customer loyalty according to customer priorities. Research results attained in the paper could assist bank managers in the Republic of Moldova in making managerial decisions to prevent customers from migrating to competitors and establish long-term relationships with them, and the conclusions and suggestions might be applicable to banks in other counties with similar problems around the globe.

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This paper aimed to explore the current research trends in circular innovation (CI) through scientometric analysis of data, acquired from the Web of Science (WoS) database, using the VOSviewer program. By applying some filters to draw boundaries, this paper found 917 journal articles related to CI in the Social Sciences Citation Index. Tables and maps were used to visualize and illustrate the keywords occurrence, leading journals, authors, and countries that made the greatest contribution to the research field. As the first scientometric analysis of CI research, this paper provided an up-to-date and inclusive big picture of related literature, indicating its unique and primary value. In addition, this paper understood and visualized research patterns and trends and identified main topics, countries and journals, which added value to the innovation and sustainability literature. The research results showed that the number of citations and publications about CI increased rapidly after 2010, and the most prominent issues related to CI were circular economy (CE), circular business models, sustainability, and sustainable development. Finally, the paper presented future research directions of CI linked to business management.

Open Access
Research article
Sustainable Consumption Behavior Measurement of Three Generations Using Descriptive Variables
derya gündüz hoşgör ,
hacer güngördü ,
haydar hoşgör
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Available online: 05-15-2023

Abstract

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Purpose: this study aimed at measuring the sustainable consumption behaviors of generations X, Y and Z using various descriptive variables. Methodology: the convenience sampling method was used for the data of this cross-sectional study collected during March 15-20, 2023, which obtained 244 usable survey data. The data were analyzed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) 26. Descriptive statistics and parametric tests were used in the study, such as t, Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) and Pearson correlation analysis. Results: the participants exhibited sustainable consumption behaviors at a moderate level (3.03). Positive and significant relationships (p<0.05) existed between the Sustainable Consumption Behavior Scale and its “environmental sensitivity” (r: 0.789), “saving” (r: 0.725), and "reusability” (r: 0.616) sub-dimensions. There was no statistically significant difference in the sustainable consumption behavior levels of the participants in terms of the variables, such as gender, educational level, income level and family type (p>0.05). However, statistically significant difference existed in the sustainable consumption behavior levels of the participants in terms of the variables, such as marital status, place of residence and generation (p<0.05). Conclusions: married participants living in the city in generation Y exhibited significantly more sustainable consumption behaviors than others. Implications: the study results revealed that the participants did not have sufficient environmental awareness. In this age of continuous consumption, it is of great importance to make necessary efforts on the issue. Within this context, environmental communities and educational institutions should provide more seminars and trainings on this issue.

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This paper aimed to analyze the salary bargaining power of employees and firms. Based on two-tier stochastic frontier model, this paper constructed a model to measure the bargaining power of employees and firms in the salary formation process. Taking Chinese A-share listed companies from 2017 to 2021 in the China Stock Market & Accounting Research Database (CSMAR) of GTA as samples, this paper conducted an empirical measurement of the bargaining power of both parties and the impact on employee salary. The results showed that: (1) The bargaining power of both employees and firms had a very important impact on the final salary, and employees had stronger bargaining power compared with firms; (2) About 75% employees made their salary higher than “Benchmark” salary through bargaining. The employee salary was 8.46% higher than "Benchmark" salary on average. With the increase of salary level, employees had stronger bargaining power in the process of salary formation. (3) The bargaining power of employees and firms was heterogeneous in firms with different ownership in different years, but the bargaining power of employees was generally stronger than that of firms.

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As a major public health emergency, the COVID-19 pandemic has some uncertainties. Coupling of the uncertainties and anti-epidemic policies easily leads to the spread of negative emotions. It is challenging to maintain the sustainability of anti-epidemic measures. Therefore, this paper aimed to analyze the challenges that the sustainability of anti-epidemic measures is faced with. A topic clustering extension method was proposed, which integrated Latent Dirichlet Allocation (LDA) topic information with Bidirectional Encoder Representations from Transformers (BERT) contextual information through aspect-based sentiment analysis. In addition, this paper constructed a thesaurus of aspect words from the two stages of dynamic zero-COVID and orderly relaxation of epidemic control. This paper established the BERT-pair-ABSA model for semantic expansion of auxiliary sentences and calculated sentiment polarity to gain insight into the changes in netizens' concerns, emotional states and evolution trends at different stages. The research results showed: (1) Compared with the benchmark model, the proposed sentiment analysis model had better classification accuracy and was applicable to the sentiment classification of short texts in the epidemic situation; (2) During the dynamic zero-COVID stage, netizens paid attention to grassroots epidemic management and the scope of lockdown and epidemic control, which were closely related to both specific lockdown and control management, and the implementation of regional epidemic management; and (3) in the orderly relaxation stage of epidemic control, netizens were concerned about drug guarantee, medical care guarantee, personal health protection and health protection of special population groups, and negative emotions always dominated in drug guarantee, medical care guarantee and health protection of special groups. The negative sentiment of drug guarantee, medical care guarantee and health protection of special groups always dominated. The results provided an empirical basis for the optimization and adjustment of the anti-epidemic policies.

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Research & Development (R&D) expenditures and technological development and innovation are crucial for higher and sustainable economic growth of countries. This paper aimed to study the effects of R&D expenditures and high-tech product exports on economic growth rates. Vector autoregressive model (VAR) analysis was made using annual data between 2000-2021 in sampled BRICS countries and Turkey. It was determined that a country's economic growth rates significantly affected R&D expenditures. In addition, R&D expenditures and high-tech exports had no significant effect on economic growth rates. With economic development, the R&D expenditures increased, which was in line with expected results.

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(1) Purpose: This study aimed to investigate the relationship between Sustainability Reporting (SR) and financial performance and put forward the effect of the SR on financial performance. (2) Methodology: In order to test our hypothesis that financial performance increases the likelihood of firms reporting sustainability, a regression model was built based on the data of firms included in the Borsa Istanbul Stock Market Sustainability Index. Independent variables included in the model are Return on Assets (ROA) and Return on Equity (ROE) values, which are considered as financial performance indicators. Application of sustainable report is a dependent variable of the model. (3) Results: Company size had a positive effect on sustainability activities, while profitability had no significant effect. Large firms were usually more willing to play a role in social and environmental issues and explain their strategies on these issues. (4) Conclusions: It is important for firms to implement sustainability initiatives inside the firms from a strategic point of view, not as a result of pressure from stakeholders, such as official institutions, non-governmental organizations, suppliers or consumers. (5) Implications: With the linear regression estimation performed, the causal relationship between sustainability and financial performance has quantitatively demonstrated the positive effect of sustainability on financial performance. The main purpose of the study is to reveal the importance of publishing a sustainability report for firms and raise their awareness, thus examining the long-term effects of publishing the report. It is suggested that future research may investigate possible differences of sustainability according to the development levels of markets and countries.

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The energy trilemma is a significant challenge of our time, driven by advancing climate change, social and political changes, and the impact of the war in Ukraine. This has led to the traditional business models of the energy industry and utilities being challenged. Against the backdrop of environmental sustainability, energy security, and affordability, this paper examines whether German utilities can achieve greater sustainability while creating shareholder value by divesting their carbon-intensive businesses. The analysis of the spin-off of E.ON-Uniper and the carve-out of RWE-Innogy reveals positive impacts on shareholder value, corporate performance, and a higher share price of all four companies after the splits. One conclusion that can be drawn is that divesting carbon-intensive businesses might create value for the company and its shareholders. However, it is important to note that the analysis did not demonstrate any benefits in terms of improved ESG ratings due to divestment.

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