Examining governance and performance of utility companies after mergers: a case from a municipal water company in Greece

Abstract

This study deals with the governance and performance of utility companies following mergers in local government organizations (LGOs). It is demonstrated by using the municipal water supply and sewerage company in city of Serres as a case study of how the reform initiative known as “Kallikratis” has impacted Greek municipal water and sewerage companies. As a result of the Kallikratis Program, the municipalities were merged, and new data were added to the map of local government in Greece. The methodological approach entails surveying the economic analysis of raw data using a number of financial ratios (financial statements of the municipal company). The study’s findings demonstrate that the municipal company of Serres was able to plan the actions that resulted in an improvement of the majority of the examined ratios after merger events, despite the extra responsibilities and geographic areas that the Kallikratis Program added to the municipal companies and the reduction of the extraordinary subsidies as a result of the Greek debt crisis. Eleven of the fourteen ratios perform better than they did before the merger, while three of them actually perform worse (2011–2018). However, various and contradictory results about the evolution of these ratios are seen over the crisis era, as some of them initially show a partial improvement (in the midst of the economic crisis period), but then they gradually deteriorate by the end of the crisis.

Role of information management in implementing the Green Deal in the EU and the US

“…The EU and the US are working to address the bewildering global crisis of disruptive changes in air, land and water ecosystems and the diversity of associated and emerging threats, and offer more effective impact guidance than traditional confusing toolkits. Policymakers in the EU and the US are pursuing increasingly clear goals that focus on shared benefits for humanity, such as individual and/or societal health and well-being in general (Dupont, et al, 2020;Pazarskis et al, 2022). It can be assumed that the information provided to the public about the necessary guidelines for the impact of the sample became more informative and more understandable when it was presented through changes in the improvement of biosystems and human health, a constant discussion of "what will we leave behind for future generations".…”