Alves, P. N., Melo, I. C., Santos, R. D., da Rocha, F. V., & Caixeta, J. V. (2022). How did COVID-19 affect green-fuel supply chain? – A performance analysis of Brazilian ethanol sector. Res. Transp. Econ., 93, 101137.
Abstract: The COVID-19 pandemic affected many supply chains worldwide, including the Brazilian green-fuel ethanol supply chain. Our analysis considered sustainability variables (social, environmental, and economic) to investigate the pandemic's effects on the ethanol industries of 15 ethanol producing Brazilian states, comparing data from 2020 to 2019 and applying a novel Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA): the Double Frontier Slack-Based Measure Malmquist Productivity Index (DF-SBM MPI). The findings show that all states suffered negative impacts from the pandemic and some incurred a risk of collapsing it. The least negatively impacted states were Sao Paulo and Mato Grosso. Sao Paulo's ethanol sector is a benchmark for income derived from trade in carbon-credits by RenovaBio certified mills, while Mato Grosso's sector is able to take advantage of the largest spread between ethanol and gasoline prices, certainly a competitive advantage for ethanol producers. We recommend the implementation of public policies to support, mainly, the most affected states by assisting their mills to become environmentally certified participants to take advantage of income opportunities available in the carbon-credit trading market. We recommend, among other actions, a temporary ethanol sales tax reduction, an extension of debt repayment schedules, and stimulating an increase in the fleet of flex-fuel vehicles.
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Melo, I. C., Alves, P. N., Queiroz, G. A., Yushimito, W., & Pereira, J. (2023). Do We Consider Sustainability When We Measure Small and Medium Enterprises' (SMEs') Performance Passing through Digital Transformation? Sustainability, 15(6), 4917.
Abstract: Small-medium enterprises (SMEs) represent 90% of business globally. Digital Transformation (DT) affects SMEs differently from larger companies because although SMEs have more flexibility and agility for adapting to new circumstances, they also have more limited resources and specialization capabilities. Thus, it is fundamental to measure SMEs' performance considering different perspectives. Here, we describe and analyze the state-of-the-art of DT in SMEs, focusing on performance measurement. We center on whether the tools used by SMEs encompass the triple bottom line of sustainability (i.e., environmental, social, and economic aspects). To do so, in December 2021, we performed a comprehensive systematic literature review (SLR) on the Web of Science and Scopus. In addition, we also explored a novel approach for SLR: topic modeling with a machine learning technique (Latent Dirichlet Allocation). The differences and interchangeability of both methods are discussed. The findings show that sustainability is treated as a separate topic in the literature. The social and environmental aspects are the most neglected. This paper contributes to sustainable development goals (SDGs) 1, 5, 8, 9, 10, and 12. A conceptual framework and future research directions are proposed. Thus, this paper is also valuable for policymakers and SMEs switching their production paradigm toward sustainability and DT.
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Yushimito, W. F., Alves, P. N., Canessa, E., & de Mateo, F. (2018). Relating Efficiency With Service Compliance Indices In Public Transportation Using Slack-Based Measure Data Envelopment Analysis And Shadow Prices. Promet, 30(6), 661–670.
Abstract: In many countries, bus operators are private companies whose service has been leased by government agencies. These agencies develop service compliance indices or measures to keep track of factors such as passenger satisfaction, frequency, and regularity but do not necessarily include the objectives of the operators in the assessment. In this paper, we used slack-based measure data envelopment analysis (SBM) to investigate whether it is possible for a bus operator to be efficient (from a private perspective) and match required standards of frequency and regularity. In doing so, data collected from two major bus operators in Santiago, Chile has been used comprising 99 services. The results show that when private objectives, namely revenues, are included in the analysis, bus operators do not necessarily seek to improve the regularity of their service. Moreover, it was found that some bus services are on the efficient frontier while keeping low performance measure standards. Using the shadow prices of the models, it was also found that improving the performance measures will be hard for many bus services unless there is a significant change in factors that are not under control of the operators (i.e., number of stops, length of the route, etc.). This shows the difficulty of correctly aligning the private objectives of operators with agencies' objectives.
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