Dalarna University's logo and link to the university's website

du.sePublications
Change search
Link to record
Permanent link

Direct link
Publications (10 of 83) Show all publications
Rudholm, N., Carling, K. & Lindgren, C. (2024). Gör internationella prisjämförelser handeln mera konjunkturkänslig?. Hndelsrådet
Open this publication in new window or tab >>Gör internationella prisjämförelser handeln mera konjunkturkänslig?
2024 (Swedish)Report (Other academic)
Abstract [sv]

Syftet med vårt projekt har varit att studera hur en ökad internationalisering av handeln som bransch, med ökade internationella prisjämförelser och ökad internationell e-handel, påverkar e-handlares prissättning och lokala marknaders känslighet för asymmetriska chocker. 

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Hndelsrådet, 2024. p. 34
Series
Handelsrådets rapportserie ; 2024:2
National Category
Economics
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:du-48011 (URN)978-91-86508-96-8 (ISBN)
Funder
Swedish Retail and Wholesale Development Council
Available from: 2024-02-10 Created: 2024-02-10 Last updated: 2024-02-12Bibliographically approved
Huq, A. M. & Carling, K. (2024). Measuring Accountable Information in CSR Reports: A New Operationalization and Analysis Applied to Greenhouse Gas Disclosures. Journal of Emerging Technologies in Accounting, 1-30
Open this publication in new window or tab >>Measuring Accountable Information in CSR Reports: A New Operationalization and Analysis Applied to Greenhouse Gas Disclosures
2024 (English)In: Journal of Emerging Technologies in Accounting, ISSN 1554-1908, E-ISSN 1558-7940, p. 1-30Article in journal (Refereed) Epub ahead of print
Abstract [en]

We develop a novel and generic text-based measure to classify and evaluate greenhouse gas (GHG) disclosures. We construct the measure using collocation analysis of GHG-related words and regular expressions. Automated implementation achieved high concordance compared to manual investigations. We move beyond the “bag-of-words” approach in classifying voluminous nonfinancial corporate disclosure. We also outline a methodology that is manyfold scalable and makes replicability straightforward. Compared to past studies, we work with a significantly larger sample of 5,017 reports across 80 countries, thereby dealing with greater complexity and leading to better generalizability. We also contribute to the debate on whether nonfinancial disclosures exhibit accountability or are merely greenwashing. We find a negative trend in accountability worldwide, and firm-level accountability in GHG disclosures is not detectable in a country-level reduction of GHG emissions. Moreover, firms disclose significantly higher accountable information in a civil-law legal environment compared to those in a common-law legal environment.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
American Accounting Association, 2024
Keywords
greenhouse gas, accountability, text mining, CSR, institutional environment
National Category
Business Administration
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:du-48010 (URN)10.2308/jeta-2022-002 (DOI)
Available from: 2024-02-10 Created: 2024-02-10 Last updated: 2024-02-12Bibliographically approved
May, R., Carling, K. & Huang, P. (2023). Does a smart agent overcome the tragedy of the commons in residential prosumer communities?.
Open this publication in new window or tab >>Does a smart agent overcome the tragedy of the commons in residential prosumer communities?
2023 (English)Article in journal (Refereed) Submitted
National Category
Energy Systems
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:du-45481 (URN)
Available from: 2023-02-17 Created: 2023-02-17 Last updated: 2023-04-03Bibliographically approved
Huq, A. M., Zwilling, M. & Carling, K. (2022). ­­­­­Cyber Security Challenges and Opportunities in a Multi-A­­­gent Environment: The case of Swedish Transport Administration. Borlänge: Högskolan Dalarna
Open this publication in new window or tab >>­­­­­Cyber Security Challenges and Opportunities in a Multi-A­­­gent Environment: The case of Swedish Transport Administration
2022 (English)Report (Other academic)
Abstract [sv]

Cyberrisk utgör ett hot mot teknologier, data och individers och organisationers integritet. Svårigheten för organisationer i att skydda sig och reducera hoten har ökat som en följd av att cyberbrottslingar har tillgång till bättre metoder och verktyg för datastöld och systeminfiltration. Detta är i synnerhet sant vad gäller fleragentsystem där agenterna är digitalt sammanlänkade via Internet. Denna skrift rapporterar, med fokus på fleragentsystem, de vanligaste och mest fundamentala cyberhoten samt presenterar luckor och tillkortakommanden i utbudet av verktyg syftande till att reducera cyberhoten. Trafikverket och dess verksamhet ingår i fleragentssystem. Skriften redogör för de mest samtida problemen och möjligheterna relevanta för transportområdet. Vidare så pekar den ut framtida forskningsbehov syftande till att ge vägledning till dem som leder cyberförsvaret i transportområdet. Skriftens slutsatser vilar på en systematisk litteraturgenomgång av vetenskapliga arbeten.

Abstract [en]

Cyber risks are considered as one of the main challenges that harm technology, data, and privacy of individuals and organizations. While cyber criminals tend to use improved methods and tools to steal data or hack into systems, the ability of organizations to mitigate such risks tend to become more difficult. Especially when the organization and various other agents operate in a multi-agent environment that is often connected to the internet. This report highlights some of the most common and fundamental cyber threats and cyber security gaps or vulnerabilities which might be found in risk mitigation tools that are used for cyber defense in a multi-agent environment. The Swedish Transport Administration for example operates in such an environment. The study exhibits latest challenges and opportunities in the transport arena while focusing on unique and specific disciplines related to the Swedish Transport Sector. It suggests future applicative research studies that will yield recommendations to cyber defense managers in the transport sector whose one of the major tasks is to perform mitigation of cyber risks. The study employed a structured literature review methodology drawing on existing scientific scholarship to prepare the report. 

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Borlänge: Högskolan Dalarna, 2022. p. 18
Series
Working papers in transport, tourism, information technology and microdata analysis, ISSN 1650-5581 ; 2022:03
Keywords
Cyber Security, Cyber Security Mitigation, Transport and Cyber Security, Supply chain Management and Cyber
National Category
Human Geography
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:du-42834 (URN)
Funder
Swedish Transport Administration
Available from: 2022-10-13 Created: 2022-10-13 Last updated: 2023-03-17Bibliographically approved
Rudholm, N., Li, Y. & Carling, K. (2022). How does Big-Box Retail Entry Affect Labor Productivity in Durable Goods Retailing? A Synthetic Control Approach. The annals of regional science, 69(1), 89-117
Open this publication in new window or tab >>How does Big-Box Retail Entry Affect Labor Productivity in Durable Goods Retailing? A Synthetic Control Approach
2022 (English)In: The annals of regional science, ISSN 0570-1864, E-ISSN 1432-0592, Vol. 69, no 1, p. 89-117Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]

Using data from 2001–2012, the effects of IKEA entry in four Swedish municipalities, 2004–2007, on labor productivity in durable goods retailing is investigated using synthetic control methods. We contribute to the literature on synthetic control methods by considering parametric specifications of the intervention effect, which improves the likelihood of identifying the effect of IKEA entry on labor productivity. Our results indicate that in three out of four entry municipalities, labor productivity increased more than in their synthetic counterparts after IKEA entry, and that larger positive effects are found in rural municipalities where the new IKEA was large relative to the existing durable goods retail market.

Keywords
Productivity growth; Quantitative case studies; Parametric synthetic matching; Bootstrap confidence intervals
National Category
Economic Geography
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:du-39304 (URN)10.1007/s00168-022-01110-4 (DOI)000752200200001 ()2-s2.0-85124322149 (Scopus ID)
Available from: 2022-01-12 Created: 2022-01-12 Last updated: 2023-04-14Bibliographically approved
Carling, K. & Håkansson, J. (2021). Privacy and data: Some research venues. In: A Research Agenda for Knowledge Management and Analytics: (pp. 191-203). Edward Elgar Publishing
Open this publication in new window or tab >>Privacy and data: Some research venues
2021 (English)In: A Research Agenda for Knowledge Management and Analytics, Edward Elgar Publishing, 2021, p. 191-203Chapter in book (Refereed)
Abstract [en]

The issue of data privacy is often reduced to secure data transactions by cryptographic techniques. However, in a liberal democracy the issue of privacy connects to fundamental questions about the co-existence and collaboration between its citizens. One is the conflict between self-interest and the interest of the commons, whereby research on privacy topics is found in distant and disparate research streams. Sharing of data perceived as private may drastically increase collective welfare, while reducing it for single citizens. In this chapter, we present a metaphor to highlight the fundamentals of privacy and explain how the access to new data-processing technologies provokes new questions to be addressed. Furthermore, we illustrate how various research streams differ in presumptions and privacy topics of interest, and we stress the potential knowledge-producing value of bridging these streams. We end by pointing out some particularly interesting research venues for privacy and data. © Jay Liebowitz 2021.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Edward Elgar Publishing, 2021
National Category
Computer and Information Sciences
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:du-41616 (URN)10.4337/9781800370623.00018 (DOI)2-s2.0-85129669070 (Scopus ID)9781800370623 (ISBN)9781800370616 (ISBN)
Available from: 2022-06-15 Created: 2022-06-15 Last updated: 2023-11-24Bibliographically approved
Carling, K. (2021). The emergence of Microdata Analysis and its intellectual history over the past two decades. Borlänge: Dalarna University
Open this publication in new window or tab >>The emergence of Microdata Analysis and its intellectual history over the past two decades
2021 (English)Report (Other academic)
Abstract [en]

By 2020, students of Dalarna University had produced some 100 Bachelor and Master’s theses and 25 Licentiate or Doctoral theses in the academic discipline of Microdata Analysis guided by the university’s faculty. While firmly rooted in the tradition and the format of the formal sciences Computer Science and Mathematics, the theses are disparate with regard to area of investigation, research method, and epistemology. The research carried out in these theses is recognized internationally by learned societies and their journals and conferences, yet Dalarna University remains globally unique in labelling an academic discipline Microdata Analysis. This paper attempts to narrate the history of the forming process of Microdata Analysis at the university and grasp its nature.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Borlänge: Dalarna University, 2021. p. 25
Series
Working papers in transport, tourism, information technology and microdata analysis, ISSN 1650-5581 ; 2021:01
National Category
Other Computer and Information Science
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:du-35937 (URN)
Available from: 2021-02-01 Created: 2021-02-01 Last updated: 2023-04-14Bibliographically approved
Lindgren, C., Huq, A. M. & Carling, K. (2021). Who are the intended users of CSR reports?: Insights from a data-driven approach. Sustainability, 13(3), 1070-1090
Open this publication in new window or tab >>Who are the intended users of CSR reports?: Insights from a data-driven approach
2021 (English)In: Sustainability, E-ISSN 2071-1050, Vol. 13, no 3, p. 1070-1090Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]

There is extant research on theorization, conceptualization, determinants, and consequences of corporate social responsibility (CSR). However, what firms include in their CSR or sustainability reports are much less covered and are predominantly covered in case studies of individual firms. In this paper, we instead take a holistic view and simultaneously explore what firms around the globe currently disclose in these reports, more specifically we investigate if firms are shareholder or stakeholder focused. In this investigation, we check the alignment of the reports to the materiality framework of Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB) which was developed having shareholders as the intended user. To estimate what firms disclose in CSR reports we used the unsupervised Bayesian machine learning approach latent Dirichlet allocation (LDA) developed by Blei et al. We conclude that firms target shareholders as the intended users of these reports, even in environments where stakeholder approach of management is argued to be more dominant. Methodologically, we contribute by demonstrating that topic modeling can enhance the objectivity in reviewing CSR-reports.

Keywords
CSR; sustainability; text mining; topic modeling; big data
National Category
Business Administration Information Systems
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:du-35829 (URN)10.3390/su13031070 (DOI)000615633500001 ()2-s2.0-85099967041 (Scopus ID)
Available from: 2021-01-21 Created: 2021-01-21 Last updated: 2023-04-14Bibliographically approved
Laryea, R., Carling, K. & Cialani, C. (2020). A decision support system that incorporates price volatility in risk classifying regional food security. International Journal of Risk Assessment and Management, 23(3/4), 223-235
Open this publication in new window or tab >>A decision support system that incorporates price volatility in risk classifying regional food security
2020 (English)In: International Journal of Risk Assessment and Management, ISSN 1466-8297, E-ISSN 1741-5241, Vol. 23, no 3/4, p. 223-235Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]

Let us consider a cooperative group of decision-makers striving to strategise against failing to attain a goal. The risk of failure depends on external factors and the decision-makers' assessment and acceptance of risk. Furthermore, the setting is complex, e.g. owing to multiple objectives and criteria, making it difficult for the individual decision-maker, as well as the group, to assess the risk in a coherent way. To aid humans in this situation formal risk frameworks have been developed. One such framework is UTADIS (UTilities Additives DIScriminantes) and the contribution of this paper is to complement this framework with objective measures of volatility. This is done in such a way that the original features of UTADIS are preserved. This paper demonstrates how objective time-series data can be exploited in groups' risk mitigating for a given decision problem. To illustrate how this solution is implemented we consider the problem of United Nations policy-makers in monitoring food security as a UN sustainable development goal. The aim of the policy makers is to classify countries into crisis groups, giving due importance to the price volatility of food staples. UTADIS is hereby applied for the purpose of developing a food price volatility classification model to satisfy the preferences of the decision-makers. The enhanced UTADIS method provides both the global risk scores of the countries and the utility threshold. This is achieved in an efficient manner, meaning that a minimised misclassification between the decision-makers' preferred classification and their authentic classification is obtained in just one iteration. The resulting marginal utility function is consequently accurate enough and validated to satisfy the preferences of the United Nations decision-makers in the making of classification on future datasets.

Keywords
price volatility; UTADIS; time series; classification; decision makers; risk.
National Category
Computer Systems
Research subject
Complex Systems – Microdata Analysis, General Microdata Analysis - methods
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:du-36423 (URN)10.1504/IJRAM.2020.114368 (DOI)2-s2.0-85104618010 (Scopus ID)
Available from: 2021-04-12 Created: 2021-04-12 Last updated: 2021-11-12Bibliographically approved
Huq, A. M. & Carling, K. (2020). Measuring accountable information in CSR reports: A new operationalization and analysis applied to GHG disclosures. Borlänge: Dalarna University
Open this publication in new window or tab >>Measuring accountable information in CSR reports: A new operationalization and analysis applied to GHG disclosures
2020 (English)Report (Other academic)
Abstract [en]

The paper contributes to the debate if voluntary nonfinancial disclosures, such as greenhouse gas disclosures in corporate social responsibility reporting, exhibit accountability or are merely greenwashing. If firms exhibit accountability, does their actions translate into observable impacts, e.g., as country-level real changes in GHG emissions? How do contextual factors affect accountable disclosures in CSR reporting? To answer these questions, we develop a novel measure to classify accountable information of GHG disclosures in CSR reporting. We operationalize the measure using natural language processing tools, such as collocation analysis, regular expressions, and text mining. Statistical models were used to carry out aggregate analysis to detect real effects in GHG emissions reductions and firm-level analysis to investigate how institutional factors affect accountable GHG disclosures. We find that firms headquartered or reporting in a civil-law legal-environment disclose significantly higher accountable information compared to those in a common-law legal-environment. However, there is a negative trend in accountability worldwide, and firm-level accountability in GHG disclosures is not detectable in a country-level reduction of GHG emissions. The results are robust for various alternative model specifications, and operationalization of the developed measure achieved high concordance when investigated on random samples manually. Compared to most past studies, we work with a significantly larger sample of 4459 reports across 82 countries, thereby dealing with greater complexity and leading to better generalizability. In addition, developing an approach that is many folds scalable and makes replicability straightforward. This is also one of the few studies to move beyond the usual “bag-of-words” approach in classifying voluminous corporate disclosure using NLP techniques.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Borlänge: Dalarna University, 2020. p. 40
Series
Working papers in transport, tourism, information technology and microdata analysis, ISSN 1650-5581 ; 2020:02
Keywords
greenhouse gas, accountability, text mining, CSR, sustainability
National Category
Business Administration
Research subject
Research Profiles 2009-2020, Complex Systems – Microdata Analysis
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:du-34935 (URN)
Available from: 2020-09-02 Created: 2020-09-02 Last updated: 2021-11-12Bibliographically approved
Organisations
Identifiers
ORCID iD: ORCID iD iconorcid.org/0000-0003-2317-9157

Search in DiVA

Show all publications