scholarly journals Paying Returns to Shareholders of Water Utilities: Evidence from Italy

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (7) ◽  
pp. 2033 ◽  
Author(s):  
Giulia Romano ◽  
Andrea Guerrini
Keyword(s):  
Water Utilities ◽  
Water Industry ◽  
Water Utility ◽  
Managerial Decisions ◽  
Strategic Model ◽  
Quality Water ◽  
Utility Managers ◽  
Privately Owned ◽  
New Infrastructure

The debate about the role of corporations with regard to water also involves the influence that paying returns to shareholders could have on the investment policy of utilities, influencing the development of new infrastructure or the renewal of existing ones. This study investigated the dividend policy of water utilities by analyzing the data of 128 Italian firms during 2009–2014. Data show that the majority of utilities do not distribute any return to shareholders. On average, large utilities pay more frequent returns than medium-sized and small ones. Moreover, water utilities that are part of a group, multi-utilities, and those located in the center of Italy pay more frequent returns than do others. Southern firms usually do not pay returns. As expected, privately owned water utilities pay dividends more frequently and have higher returns to equity. In all the observed years, at least one-third of such utilities paid returns. Empirical results provide water regulators, water utility managers, and stakeholders with information that can impact future regulatory and managerial decisions related to management and strategic model choices in the water industry and how these decisions affect investments to improve water quality, water quantity, and/or water services.

Развитие механизмов цифровой трансформации водоканалов

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Alekseev ◽  
T. Alekseeva
Keyword(s):  
Water Supply ◽  
Cost Savings ◽  
Digital Transformation ◽  
Water Utilities ◽  
Digital Model ◽  
Water Industry ◽  
Water Utility ◽  
Fixed Assets ◽  
Sanitation Systems ◽  
Water Supply And Sanitation

Одной из главных задач, стоящих перед экономикой России, является масштабная модернизация и цифровая трансформация всех ее отраслей, в том числе водопроводно-канализационного хозяйства. Технологическое отставание, изношенность основных фондов и недостаток инвестиций сдерживают развитие отрасли. В этих условиях необходимо разработать подходы и механизмы для обеспечения цифровой трансформации водоканалов. Практика показывает, что начинать следует не с закупки дорогостоящего программного обеспечения, а с разработки модели деятельности предприятия ВКХ. В результате исследования предложен подход к созданию цифровой модели водоканала на основе интеграции методов онтологического моделирования его деятельности, инструментов модернизации водоканалов и компьютерных технологий. Рассмотрен ряд эффективных инструментов модернизации водоканалов: ГИС- и BIM-технологии, методы управления объектами систем водоснабжения и водоотведения и др. Обосновано понятие цифровая модель деятельности водоканала и предложена структура основных элементов концептуального уровня этой модели с учетом специфики ВКХ. Практическое применение нового подхода будет способствовать эффективной цифровой трансформации водоканалов и ускоренному развитию отрасли при своевременном обновлении основных фондов с учетом экономии затрат и повышения качества услуг.One of the main challenges the Russian economy faces is the major upgrade and digital transformation of all the sectors including water supply and sanitation systems. The technological inferiority, depreciation of fixed assets and lack of investments hinder the development of the water industry. In these conditions, developing approaches and mechanisms to ensure the digital transformation of water utilities is required. Practice shows that one should start not with purchasing expensive software, but with developing a model of a water utility. As a result of the study, an approach to developing a digital model of a water utility based on the integration of ontological modeling its activities, modernization tools for water utilities and computer technology was proposed. A number of effective tools for upgrading water utilities are considered: GIS- and BIM-technologies, methods of operating water supply and sanitation facilities, etc. The concept of a digital model of the water utility activities is substantiated and the structure of the basic elements of the conceptual level of this model considering the specifics of the water utilities is proposed. The practical application of the new approach will contribute to the effective digital transformation of water utilities and the enhanced development of the water industry with timely updating fixed assets, taking into account cost savings and improving the quality of services.

Benchmarking Risk Analysis Practice in the International Water Sector

2006 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
B.H. MacGillivray ◽  
P.D. Hamilton ◽  
S.E. Hrudey ◽  
L. Reekie ◽  
S.J.T Pollard
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Risk Analysis ◽  
Water Utilities ◽  
Water Sector ◽  
Water Utility ◽  
Analysis Techniques ◽  
The Usa ◽  
International Water ◽  
Practical Guidance ◽  
The Uk

Risk analysis in the water utility sector is fast becoming explicit. Here, we describe application of a capability model to benchmark the risk analysis maturity of a sub-sample of eight water utilities from the USA, the UK and Australia. Our analysis codifies risk analysis practice and offers practical guidance as to how utilities may more effectively employ their portfolio of risk analysis techniques for optimal, credible, and defensible decision making.

Socio economic influences on the restoration and maintenance of the water environment

1998 ◽  
Vol 37 (8) ◽  
pp. 1-7
Author(s):  
Peter Matthews
Keyword(s):  
Water Environment ◽  
Water Utilities ◽  
Water Services ◽  
Economic Issue ◽  
Water Utility ◽  
Political Thinking ◽  
The Public ◽  
Economic Influences ◽  
Mind Set

Protection of the water environment has become a modern socio economic issue in which the sociological pressures for a healthy water environment must be balanced with affordability. Reconciliation of these aspects requires clear political thinking and rigorous methodologies. It also requires a shift in mind-set which considers members of the public as customers. Water utilities are the major users of the water environment and potentially its greatest threat – so good delivery of water services is very important. The presentation addresses the topic through the experience of Anglian Water, a privatised water utility serving Eastern England.

scholarly journals How Perceptions of Trust, Risk, Tap Water Quality, and Salience Characterize Drinking Water Choices

Hydrology ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 49
Author(s):  
Madeline A. Grupper ◽  
Madeline E. Schreiber ◽  
Michael G. Sorice
Keyword(s):  
Water Quality ◽  
Drinking Water ◽  
Risk Perceptions ◽  
Anthropogenic Impacts ◽  
Tap Water ◽  
Water Utilities ◽  
Global Changes ◽  
Water Utility ◽  
The Public ◽  
Water Behavior

Provision of safe drinking water by water utilities is challenged by disturbances to water quality that have become increasingly frequent due to global changes and anthropogenic impacts. Many water utilities are turning to adaptable and flexible strategies to allow for resilient management of drinking water supplies. The success of resilience-based management depends on, and is enabled by, positive relationships with the public. To understand how relationships between managers and communities spill over to in-home drinking water behavior, we examined the role of trust, risk perceptions, salience of drinking water, and water quality evaluations in the choice of in-home drinking water sources for a population in Roanoke Virginia. Using survey data, our study characterized patterns of in-home drinking water behavior and explored related perceptions to determine if residents’ perceptions of their water and the municipal water utility could be intuited from this behavior. We characterized drinking water behavior using a hierarchical cluster analysis and highlighted the importance of studying a range of drinking water patterns. Through analyses of variance, we found that people who drink more tap water have higher trust in their water managers, evaluate water quality more favorably, have lower risk perceptions, and pay less attention to changes in their tap water. Utility managers may gauge information about aspects of their relationships with communities by examining drinking water behavior, which can be used to inform their future interactions with the public, with the goal of increasing resilience and adaptability to external water supply threats.

The Role of Industrial Ecology in Maximizing the Value of the Organization

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 34-53
Author(s):  
Nazar Rasheed Nori ◽  
Sandeep Kumar Gupta
Keyword(s):  
Statistical Methods ◽  
Mineral Water ◽  
Industrial Ecology ◽  
Water Industry ◽  
Independent Research ◽  
Independent Variable ◽  
Primary Hypothesis ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
The City

The research aims to show the role of industrial ecology in optimizing the value of mineral water industry organizations in the city of Dohuk through the adoption of a significant problem: What is the role of industrial ecology in optimizing the value of organizations? The researcher has adopted a primary hypothesis in studying the problem. The researcher also measured the reality of the problem and the validity of the hypothesis on the method of opinion questionnaire: a sample of organizations of mineral water industry consisting of 27 individuals using a questionnaire consisting of a set of questions related to the independent research variables (industrial ecology) and the approved variable (the value of the organization). The number of questions related to the independent variable was 10 questions, and 16 questions were related to the dependent variable. Then the researchers used some statistical methods in analyzing the questionnaire. The relationship and impact between industrial ecology and the value of the organization has been settled. The researchers have reached a significant conclusion that there is a positive correlation between the two research variables and that the industrial ecology affects the maximization of the value of mineral water industry organizations in the market of the city of Dohuk (0.114 once).

LOGISTICS BASICS OF ORDER MANAGEMENT

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
L.K. Kirillova ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Continuous Operation ◽  
Management Process ◽  
Managerial Decisions ◽  
Order Management

The article considers the conceptual features of logistics and criteria for making managerial decisions. The role of order management in ensuring the continuous operation of the organization is shown. The stages of the order management process for planning the system of interaction with customers are reflected.

Marketing urban water services: information needs for water utility managers in developing countries

2006 ◽  
Vol 6 (5) ◽  
pp. 17-25
Author(s):  
J. Mugabi ◽  
C. Njiru
Keyword(s):  
Developing Countries ◽  
Information Needs ◽  
Past Research ◽  
Service Level ◽  
Generic Model ◽  
Water Services ◽  
Water Utility ◽  
Customer Information ◽  
Willingness To Use ◽  
Utility Managers

A decade ago the ‘Dublin Principles’ shifted global thinking towards treating water as an economic good. The concern was that overly supply-driven approaches had been financially unsustainable, and therefore failed to reduce the service gap. Accompanying this conceptual shift has been a wider move towards focusing on the customer's needs and preferences and their willingness to pay, and applying marketing techniques to meet those needs in a financially sustainable manner. Although regarded as a positive move, its success is heavily dependent on how well water utilities understand their customers. This paper examines existing literature on the determinants of customer willingness to use and pay for improved water services in developing countries. The contribution of past research to our understanding of the behaviour of customers, with regard to service level choice and payment for services, is critically analysed. Basing on this analysis, we develop and discuss a generic model of a water consumer's decision-making process. The model serves two purposes. First, it consolidates past research into a coherent framework to facilitate implementation of the marketing approach. Secondly, we use the model to identify critical customer information that water utility managers need to know in order to be customer-focused.

The same deep water as you? The impact of alternative governance arrangements of water service delivery on efficiency

2017 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 78-101 ◽  
Author(s):  
Miguel Rodrigues ◽  
António F Tavares
Keyword(s):  
Regulatory Authority ◽  
Regression Models ◽  
Water Governance ◽  
Water Utilities ◽  
Switching Regression ◽  
Water Utility ◽  
Utility Systems ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Switching Regression Models ◽  
Governance Arrangements

This work contributes to the literature on water governance by attempting to provide an answer to the question of what are the differences in efficiency of alternative governance arrangements of water utilities. We test hypotheses derived from property rights, principal–agent, and transaction costs theories using a comprehensive database of 260 water utility systems provided by the Portuguese Regulatory Authority of Water and Waste Services. Using endogenous switching regression models estimated through maximum likelihood, the study is designed in two steps. First, we investigate differences in efficiency between in-house options and externalization and find that in-house solutions as a set (direct provision and municipal companies) are more efficient than externalization options (mixed companies and concessions). Second, we test differences in efficiency within both in-house and externalization solutions, and fail to find statistically significant differences in efficiency between in-house bureaucracies and municipal companies and between mixed companies and concessions.

Advances in benchmarking to improve water utility operations: a review of six IWA books

Water Policy ◽  
2012 ◽  
Vol 15 (2) ◽  
pp. 325-333 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sanford V. Berg
Keyword(s):  
Best Practice ◽  
Water Utility ◽  
Quantitative Studies ◽  
Performance Patterns ◽  
Water Association ◽  
International Water ◽  
Sector Performance ◽  
Historical Developments ◽  
Key Indicators

Six recent publications by the International Water Association underscore the growing importance of quantitative studies of water utilities for identifying (1) performance patterns, (2) trends in key indicators and (3) best practice. Since each author takes a different approach to the problem of performance measurement and incentives for improvement, the books provide different perspectives on the decision-relevance of empirical analysis and cases for managers and policymakers. Key lessons from the volumes include the use of benchmarking as a tool for establishing better internal incentives, the importance of data collection and auditing and the role of transparency in helping stakeholders become more informed about utility operations. Analysts need to help stakeholders understand sector complexities, where hydrology, topology, historical developments outside current management's control, population income levels and the amount of skilled labor differ widely across and even within nations. The six books taken together underscore the value of quantifying relative performance and improving our awareness of production processes and the institutional arrangements that support strong water sector performance.

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