Innovation has long been considered crucial for companies to gain a competitive edge in the global marketplace. Unfortunately, a solid understanding of the system of innovation does not exist. The literature lacks formal definitions and methodologies for the system of innovation. Many surrogates...

This dissertation addresses the crucial problem of how environmental policy uncertainty influences investments in energy technological change. The rising level of carbon emissions due to increasing global energy consumption calls for policy shift. In order to stem the negative consequences on...

This paper examines the underlying logic behind the rules configured in a RFID middleware to support “smart business processes” in one retail supply chain. Through a detailed investigation of the underlying business processes, we will demonstrate how businesses rules can be defined,...

This dissertation aims to achieve two goals. The first is to model the strategic interactions of firms that own cascaded reservoir-hydro plants in oligopolistic and mixed oligopolistic hydrothermal electricity generation markets. Although competition in thermal generation has been extensively...

In a typical decentralized supply chain, i.e., one with multiple loci of control, the dependencies between the entities are formalized through contracts. The parameters over which contracts are observed in a typical buyer-seller system include price, periodicity of ordering, quantity...

Energy plays a vital role in the world today, driving industry and allowing for technologies ingrained throughout the routines of daily life. The complex interactions, evolution, long time scales of change, and critical nature of the energy system makes modeling and analysis crucial to...

In managing economic risks, it is necessary for a company in the process industries to allow for uncertainties in the amount of each product that can be sold, how much material is available for production, as well as prices and costs. The goal is to optimize a company's profit criterion without...

Electricity utilities in the Southern African region are conscious that gains could be made from more economically efficient trading but have had no tools with which to analyze the effects of a change in policy. This research is the first to provide transparent quantitative techniques to...

Over the past century the Pharmaceutical industry has evolved from an "outback garage" industry to a highly competitive, technology-driven, organized industry, churning out highly valuable drug products that have played a key role in vastly improving our quality of life and healthcare. But today...

In today's global economy, firms are seeking any and every opportunity to differentiate from competitors by reducing supply chain costs and adding value to end customers. One increasingly popular option, under growing consumer awareness and increasing legislation, is to reintegrate returned...