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IEEE Ontologies for Robotics and Automation Working Group were divided into subgroups that were in charge of studying industrial robotics, service robotics and autonomous robotics. This paper aims to present the work in-progress developed by the autonomous robotics (AuR) subgroup. This group aims to extend the core ontology for robotics and automation to represent more specific concepts and axioms that are commonly used in autonomous robots.

For autonomous robots, various concepts for aerial robots, underwater robots and ground robots are described. Components of an autonomous system are defined, such as robotic platforms, actuators, sensors, control, state estimation, path planning, perception and decision-making.

AuR has identified the core concepts and domains needed to create an ontology for autonomous robots.

AuR targets to create a standard ontology to represent the knowledge and reasoning needed to create autonomous systems that comprise robots that can operate in the air, ground and underwater environments. The concepts in the developed ontology will endow a robot with autonomy, that is, endow robots with the ability to perform desired tasks in unstructured environments without continuous explicit human guidance.

Creating a standard for knowledge representation and reasoning in autonomous robotics will have a significant impact on all R&A domains, such as on the knowledge transmission among agents, including autonomous robots and humans. This tends to facilitate the communication among them and also provide reasoning capabilities involving the knowledge of all elements using the ontology. This will result in improved autonomy of autonomous systems. The autonomy will have considerable impact on how robots interact with humans. As a result, the use of robots will further benefit our society. Many tedious tasks that currently can only be performed by humans will be performed by robots, which will further improve the quality of life. To the best of the authors’knowledge, AuR is the first group that adopts a systematic approach to develop ontologies consisting of specific concepts and axioms that are commonly used in autonomous robots.

This article aims to examine the influence of emotional intelligence on cross-functional teams, the formation of interorganizational networks and the impact of all three dimensions on operational effectiveness.

The analysis was based on 250 valid questionnaires collected from organizations in the Valle del Cauca region in Colombia in the service sector. The variables were analyzed using structural equation modeling to identify their relationships.

The results suggest that emotional intelligence contributes to establishing cross-functional teams but does not impact the development of interorganizational networks, influencing operational effectiveness only indirectly through the cross-functional teams. Contrary to what the literature suggests, interorganizational networks do not influence the operational effectiveness of organizations. Hence, in the pursuit of competitive advantage, companies in the studied region should encourage the creation of cross-functional teams within their organizations to maximize the returns received through the optimization of operational effectiveness.

Organizations are comprised of individuals whose emotional intelligence competencies and abilities enable them to form effective cross-functional teams. Furthermore, cross-functional teams that effectively establish relationships with other organizations are frequently employed in global, interorganizational collaboration environments like joint ventures and alliances. Cross-functional teams that fulfill their aims have the potential to benefit the organization's performance by boosting operational effectiveness and, therefore, its competitiveness.

The value of this article lies in providing a better understanding of the capabilities and strategies of organizations in the construction of interorganizational networks intended to improve their competitiveness. However, before operational effectiveness and a sustainable competitive advantage can be achieved, the role of the individuals comprising the cross-functional teams should be managed through the appropriate application of the concepts of emotional intelligence.

This paper contributes to the theory of the relationship between human resource management (HRM) and innovation at small- to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) by conducting a conceptual analysis of the question why Germany boasts by far the highest number of “Hidden Champion” SMEs. This is done by case studies from the army and public financial management of aid disbursal in developing countries. Implications for HRM at SMEs are discussed.

Conceptual analysis using case studies.

Contributing towards filling the gap concerning theoretical underpinnings of the link between HRM and innovation, we suggest that interdisciplinary work from relevant organisational case studies indicates that the concept of institutional design to provide motivational incentives may be relevant, especially concerning high performance systems with bundles of HRM practices. Specifically, the fundamental principle of subsidiarity is found to be important.

The research is broadly applicable to organisations of all kinds, as the diverse case studies indicate. We point towards tentative implications for the firms that account for the majority of the work force, namely SMEs, and among them the most successful ones, the so-called “Hidden Champions”.

HR managers can improve motivation, performance and innovation by decentralising decision-making as far as possible, while ensuring the overall organisational goals are well understood and shared, and resources are dedicated to train and educate staff. Additionally, the conception of rank-order competitions complements the institutional design.

Greater productivity and material performance as well as greater job satisfaction via larger autonomy and decision-making power on the local level can be achieved by the application of subsidiarity as key HRM configuration. This can be employed at SMEs, as discussed, but also other organisations. Further, the principle of subsidiarity and the greater emphasis on staff training and education may help reduce inequality.

Our paper contributes towards filling the gap in the literature on the link between HRM and innovation, by identifying the role of subsidiarity. We introduce an interdisciplinary perspective, with contributions from economics and psychology, among others. We also contribute to the history of HRM.

The purpose of this paper is to provide empirical evidence of the relationship between altruistic leader behavior and radical innovation, using organizational learning as an explanatory variable.

To confirm the hypotheses, structural equations were used on a data set from a survey carried out on Spanish firms with recognized excellence in human resources management.

The study empirically validates the conceptual model. Results suggest that organizational learning capability fully mediates the relationship between altruistic leader behavior and radical innovation.

The database used in the study is very heterogeneous. Future research might delimit the database by organization size or sector.

Results suggest ideas for organizations that want to implement a working environment that fosters innovation performance in order to achieve radical innovations.

This is one of the few studies to concentrate on altruistic leader behaviors as such. This paper contributes to understanding how altruistic leader behavior affects radical innovation and the key role played by organizational learning capability.

Efficiency in retailing companies is mandatory for survival. Literature acknowledges external factors impact on efficiency. However, this impact remains understudied, as previous research typically focuses on managerial decisions. The purpose of this paper is to partially fill this gap by exploring the influence of external factors on retailers’ efficiency.

This research simultaneously measures retail efficiency and evaluates the impact of six potential drivers by applying bootstrap techniques in a sample of 25 European Union countries during the period 2006–2015.

The efficiency of the retail system in the countries under analysis evolves at different paces during the observation period. This evolution can be explained by country population density, average store size within countries, foreign trade ratio, concentration, economic freedom and percentage of urban population.

This research does not account for supply and demand restrictions that might affect retailers’ efficiency, as well as other variables that influence their production process.

This paper might help retail managers to comprehend and manage their companies’ efficiency. Furthermore, it provides clues to evaluate market attractiveness in retailers’ international expansion strategies.

Policy makers can facilitate retailers’ efficiency through regulations on external variables that influence retailers’ performance, namely economic freedom and foreign trade ratio.

For the first time, this study analyses the impact of external factors on retail services efficiency across countries.

Companies use continuous improvement (CI) as a strategy to achieve business excellence and innovation. Yet CI initiatives fail mostly due to a lack of employee engagement. The paper aims to discuss this issue.

Based on the CI literature and the technology acceptance model (TAM), a comprehensive model called continuous improvement acceptance mode (CIAM) was developed to understand the main organisational antecedents that predict employee intention to participate in CI. The CIAM is based on structural equation modelling using partial least squares and it was validated in a large manufacturing plant in Europe.

Emulating the findings of the TAM, this study shows that employee intention to participate can be predicted by two variables called ease of participating and usefulness of participating. The CIAM then relates these constructs with relevant CI enablers found in the CI literature.

The CIAM could help academics and practitioners to better understand employee participation in CI activities, allowing CI systems to be better designed and achieve long-term sustainability.

The CIAM presents new variables and interactions that help to understand employee participation in CI activities. Some of these variables and interactions have received scant attention in the CI literature and thus they are worth investigating in greater depth in the future.

The purpose of this paper is to provide empirical evidence of the relationship between end-user computing satisfaction (EUCS) and radical innovation, using organizational learning as an explanatory variable.

An empirical study was conducted in a population of 402 Spanish companies. A sample of 251 valid questionnaires was obtained. Structural equations were used to validate the proposed hypotheses.

Organizational learning capability fully mediates the relationship between EUCS and radical innovation.

The sample of companies is heterogeneous in terms of size, sector, age and market share. The study uses single informants.

Results highlight the need to implement adequate information systems to promote radical innovation. In addition, it is necessary to facilitate organizational contexts that encourage dialogue, experimentation, risk-taking, participative decision-making and openness to the external environment.

This research contributes to the study of alternative antecedents of radical innovation by highlighting the importance of EUCS.

The authors draw on this approach to explore the consequences of compassion and altruism in the workplace for firm performance, using organizational resilience as a mediating variable.

In recent years, a paradigm shift has been proposed in the organizational sciences that includes a change from self-centeredness to interconnectedness. This emergent management paradigm considers that employees are not only motivated by self-interest but also by other-centered values, such as altruism and compassion for others. This alternative proposal suggests the need for a more humanistic perspective for management. To carry out the research, the authors applied a structural equation model to a sample of highly innovative companies from different sectors.

The results confirm that compassion at work leads to a climate based on altruism, which indirectly increases firm performance by means of organizational resilience. This study contributes to the organizational literature by revealing some benefits of promoting altruism and compassion in organizations.

This study therefore provides a detailed analysis of the consequences of altruism and compassion in organizations and reveals some organizational conditions that can drive firm performance. Moreover, this study is the first to suggest and empirically validate that a work climate based on altruism enhances organizational resilience. In turn, organizational resilience enables the firm to take appropriate actions to convert unexpected and adverse situations that potentially threaten its survival into sources of opportunity and growth.

Based on a new management paradigm rooted on care and compassion, this study explores the consequences of compassion at work on organizational learning and firm performance.

Structural equation modeling (SEM) was employed to analyze the research model by using data from two different samples.

Results confirm that compassion increases firm performance through organizational learning capability; however, compassion do not enhances directly firm performance.

The study findings indicate that when compassion is propagated among organizational members, organizations are better able to learn so they obtain a competitive advantage that is difficult to imitate and leads to higher firm performance.

This study takes a step forward on literature by providing empirical evidence for a promising area of management research such is compassion in organizations.

The purpose of this paper is to explore the extent of the urban tourism literature that uses the systems approach to outline its research trajectory and detect its trends. Urban tourism is a complex phenomenon whose complexity increases at the very moment it interacts with complex environments. To deal with this kind of issues, urban tourism-related authors have used different approaches, with the systems approach being one of the best alternatives for its understanding and study.

A systematic literature review was conducted using two sets of keywords related to urban tourism and systems approach. Scopus, ScienceDirect and Web of Science databases were used for the peer-reviewed literature search. After filtering processes were applied, 29 publications were retained for the analysis.

This paper provides a significant overview of the existing publications regarding this topic. A theme of common interest and trends for future investigations were detected. Based on the findings, future works to be developed with the use of the systems approach, and its tools are proposed.

This review gives promising evidence on that the use of the systems approach for future urban tourism studies is a viable alternative to the application of other dominant approaches, to manage the complexity, diversity and dynamism of the urban tourism and of its environment, which is nowadays addressed as Smart. Then, the paper seeks to foster the use of systems approach and its systemic tools for the understanding and study of urban tourism as a complex system.