Regional Science Inquiry

Ilias P. VLACHOS

Northumbria University, UK

ilias.vlachos@northumbria.ac.uk

George P. MALINDRETOS

Harokopion University, Greece

gmal@hua.gr

Αbstract

Purpose: Sufficient support of the sustainability of farm products embedded in a region (such as Products of Designated Origin / PDOs) to overcome significant obstacles to access domestic and remote markets. Main research question is how to overcome such inherent difficulties and transform them into challenges and opportunities to the new market environment.

Design/methodology /approach: Combination of simplicity with the complicated issue of sustainability for awareness of small farmers SMEs and their collective representatives. Improve the understanding of the Sustainable Supply Chain Management (SSCM), to facilitate sustainability through use of the ‘Bellagio Principles’ for assessing sustainability of local farm products and facilitating further enhancement. Use of certain PDOs farm products of the Messinian region of Greece, such as local Sfela Feta cheese, olive oil, olives and raisins, to assess sustainability and improvement. Formation of a conceptual constructive action R&D framework of broader use in building-up and performing implementation of holistic supply chain strategy.

Expected Findings: Providing better understanding of the SSCM. Insights on how SMEs co-operatives can collectively apply holistic strategies concerning local farm PDOs to fulfil competitiveness and sustainability requirements, under variant product and market conditions.

Originality / Value : Improving the know-how, focusing on the sustainability of regional, traditional products and its effects upon supply chain performance and market access. Practical implications for regional-based farm SMEs in the design of holistic value creation strategies to produce sustainable competitive advantage. Interactive cause and effect dynamic implications of sustainable development on social, economic and physical environment.

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Nahid HOSSAIN

School of Engineering, Department of Environmental and Life Science Engineering, Toyohashi University of Technology

nahid453@gmail.com

Yuzuru MIYATA

School of Architecture and Civil Engineering Toyohashi University of Technology

miyata@hse.tut.ac.jp

Abstract

Manufacturing and trading concentration, elevated economic activities and rise in urban population are the driving forces of city growths in the central part of Japan.  Toyohashi city, locating between Tokyo and Nagoya, Osaka, is facing rapid growth for its industrial and port related economic concentration. As a result, use of natural resources and energy in the city is increasing. Recent trends show that to ensure economic growth, the City level energy use increased significantly. On the other hand, after the great disaster of 2011, Japan is concentrating more on natural resources to produce energy. The outcome would end in a higher use of natural resources like fossil fuel and natural gas. Finding an optimum solution to address energy-economy interactions is, therefore, becoming complex and difficult. Under the circumstances, this paper attempts to study the growth of Toyohashi city over time and resultant increase in consumption of electricity and gas.  Another objective of the paper is to find features of effect of technological yield in use of energy. The results of the study show that manufacturing and trading sector of the economy are causing expansionary pressure on use of combustion energy. The study also finds that contribution of technology to reduce use of energy in production side of the economy yet a dormant factor. Hence, introduction of technology to ensure improved and efficient use of energy has been recommended by the findings of the paper. The limitation of the study can be described as the limitation in research sample and data influence on the results coming out from market orientation. Difference in technology and direction toward the energy use was not taken care of by the study too.

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Shamsunnahar KHANAM

School of Environmental and Life Sciences, Toyohashi University of Technology, Japan

shamsunnahar_khanam@yahoo.com

Yuzuru MIYATA

School of Architecture and Civil Engineering, Toyohashi University of Technology, Japan

miyata@ace.tut.ac.jp

Abstract

After nearly a century with the internal combustion engine dominating the personal transportation sector, it now appears that the demands of Battery-based Electric Vehicles (BEVs) production are on the verge of experiencing rapid growth in Japan vehicle market. The broad-scale adoption of the BEVs could bring significant changes for our society in terms of moving the economics away from petroleum and lessoning the environmental footprint of transportation. However as Japanese economy strongly depends on the automobile industry, shifting production systems in the automobile industries influence not only the automobile industry but also other industries. Especially industrial regions where automobile firms are concentrated like in Toyohashi city in Japan will be affected by new production system. Thus, it is worth to acquaint with a new industrial structure for preventing the shortcoming by shifting production. In essence, this paper provides a computable general equilibrium (CGE) model to investigate the economic repercussion of BEVs production in the automobile industries, afterward suggests a new industrial formation to cope with the change of production system to BEVs in Toyohashi city in Japan. The most important database for CGE model calibration is a social accounting matrix (SAM). However input-output (I-O) table and the SAM are not available in Toyohashi city, thus the I-O table and SAM are also estimated in this study.

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