Implications of COVID-19 policies on the sustainable corporate practices of European firms

Purpose: This study aims to analyze how mixes of COVID-19 policy responses are shaping the context in which companies will compete in the following years, defining how the crisis might impact firms' ability to keep their commitments to sustainable practices. Design/methodology/approach: European country-performance data for the years 2019 and 2020 were grouped into indicators of macro sustainability, then cross-analyzed against the policies adopted during the period (also grouped based on their impacts on sustainability pillars), using correlations, factor analysis and clustering. Findings: The influence of traditional sustainability determinants was reframed according to the novel context shaped by the policy responses to the pandemic crisis. The social and digitalization aspects gained the most relevance and appeared interconnected, with digitalization of employment attaining overall more traction. Moreover, changes in the leadership within sustainability domains were observed for each identified country-cluster, due to newly implemented emergency policies. In fact, environmental innovation, digitalization and social support policies appeared to be the main variables to be impacted by the intensity of the policy efforts. Practical implications: Businesses monitoring the developments of sustainability policies closely, will observe novel trends in technological applications. Social implications: Policymakers and researchers may gauge the efficacy of policies against the COVID-19 crisis in the domain of sustainable development and resilience. Originality/value: This paper provides a cross-analysis of quantitative macroeconomic and quantified policy responses to the 2020 pandemic crisis, linking each indicator to the pillars of sustainability that were relevant for companies between the crucial pandemic outbreak years 2019 and 2020. © 2023, Emerald Publishing Limited.

Measuring the Efficiency of Thai Commercial Banks during the COVID-19 Pandemic by Data Envelopment Analysis

This study intends to measure the comparative efficiency of Thai Commercial Banks. The performance data has been collected over the past 2 years, between 2020 and 2021 during the COVID-19 pandemic and then compared to performance during the normal period of 2017-2018. Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) using Variable Return to Scale (VRS) is applied to measure banking performance. Through Intermediation Approach, specific input variables are considered: employee expenses, directors' remuneration expenses, premises and equipment expenses and deposits. The output variables, including loans to customers and investment, are also analyzed.The same time, through the Production Approach, these specific input variables are analyzed: employee expenses, directors' remuneration expenses, premises and equipment expenses, fees and service expenses, taxes and duties and interest expenses. The output variables, including interest income, fee and service income, deposit, and loans to customers, are used to analyze the efficiency. The results of analysis with the Intermediation Approach indicate 5 of 13 Thai Commercial Banks were considered relatively inefficient including BAY, BBL, KBANK, SCB and SCBT. In addition, CIMB is 1 of 13 Thai Commercial Banks is considered as relatively inefficient under the Production Approach. © 2022 ACM.

Qorvo Biotechnologies OmniaTM Platform- BAW-Based Biosensors For COVID-19 And Beyond

This paper describes the Qorvo Biotechnologies Omnia testing system using bulk acoustic wave (BAW) sensor technology and performance data generated in a study conducted by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) as part of the RADx initiative for SARS-CoV-2 antigen testing. The Qorvo Omnia SARS-CoV-2 Antigen test was granted Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) for the qualitative detection of SARS-CoV-2 nucleocapsid viral antigens from direct anterior nasal swab specimens without transport media from symptomatic individuals who are suspected of COVID-19 by their healthcare provider within the first six days of symptom onset. The study illustrates the ease-of-use of the system and provides specific performance data: Limit of Detection (LoD) determination and a prospective study in two patient cohorts versus two high sensitivity real time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) comparative methods, the Roche cobas® 6800 RT-PCR system (1800 NDU/mL) and the Hologic Panther® RT-PCR system (600 NDU/mL). © 2022 MANTECH 2022. All rights reserved.

Interpreting Air Cleaner Performance Data

The global COVID-19 pandemic has prompted widespread demand for air cleaning technologies aimed at reducing risks of airborne pathogen transmission inside buildings. The commercial landscape for air cleaning devices is complex, ranging from conventional technologies such as high-efficiency fibrous-media filters and ultraviolet germicidal irradiation (UVGI) to a wide variety of electronic air cleaning technologies such as plasma generators, hydroxyl radical generators, ionizers, photocatalytic oxidizers and others. This article demonstrates some frequently prevalent issues in electronic air cleaner performance testing and reporting and proposes a path forward to meet research needs and improve test methods that could reduce the current uncertainty about the performance of electronic air cleaning technologies. It also provides tools to support practitioners and consumers in their decision-making regarding air cleaning technologies. Copyright 2022 ASHRAE.