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In this paper, empirical evidence is presented regarding the translation of the learning tactics inventory (LTI) instrument that measures learning versatility in entrepreneurs with four main learning strategies: acting, thinking, feeling or access to others. The purpose of this paper is to show how translating instruments from other languages and for cross-cultural studies is not sufficient to achieve instrument validity, and the use of structural equation modeling can help to strengthen the process.

After using iterative and multi-technique strategies that involved close translation and adaptation, structural equation modeling was also performed to validate whether relationships exist among the constructs and their variables using a confirmatory analysis.

After careful translation, the Spanish version of the LTI instrument does not measure the intended constructs. Such evidence was uncovered by contrasting the different dimensions of the English and Spanish translated versions.

Instruments in cross-cultural studies require more than translation strategies to adapt the instrument to the new context. This paper shows that, with the use of structural equation modeling, constructs may change in different international contexts and how misinterpretations of the instrument can occur if additional validity tests are ignored.

Consistent with the extant literature, the findings suggest that, when studying a complex phenomenon such as learning through a survey developed in a different country and language, cultural factors should be explained to maintain construct validity. Hence, in entrepreneurship and management research, instruments such as the LTI need to be validated with confirmatory analysis to accurately reflect the different learning strategies of entrepreneurs across cultures.

En este artículo se presenta evidencia empírica sobre la traducción del instrumento referente al Inventario de Tácticas de Aprendizaje, el cual mide la versatilidad del aprendizaje entre emprendedores con 4 principales estrategias: acción, pensamiento, sentimientos y acceso a los demás. El objetivo del artículo es el mostrar cómo la traducción en estudios multiculturales no es suficiente para lograr la validez del instrumento, y como el uso de Ecuaciones Estructurales puede fortalecer el proceso.

Tras utilizar múltiples técnicas e iterativas que involucran traducción cercana y adaptación, se utilizó la metodología de Ecuaciones Estructurales para validar relaciones entre constructos y variables mediante un análisis confirmatorio.

Se ha demostrado que, aún y con una traducción cuidadosa, el instrumento no refleja los constructos de la versión en inglés. Dicha evidencia se encontró al analizar las diferentes dimensiones entre las versiones en inglés y en español.

Los instrumentos en estudios multiculturales requieren más que una traducción para adaptarse a nuevos contextos. El presente artículo muestra con el uso de Ecuaciones Estructurales los constructos pueden cambiar en contextos internacionales diversos; así como que las interpretaciones erróneas del instrumento pueden acontecer si los estudios de validez de constructo son ignorados.

Alineado a la literatura existente, los resultados sugieren que al estudiar un fenómeno como el aprendizaje en un contexto diferente al de la creación del instrumento, los factores culturales deben tomarse en cuenta con el objetivo de mantener la validez de constructo. Por tanto, en investigaciones sobre emprendimiento y administración, instrumentos como el Inventario de Tácticas de Aprendizaje deben validarse con un análisis confirmatorio con el objetivo de reflejar adecuadamente las diferentes estrategias de aprendizaje entre culturas.

Transcultural, México, Emprendedores, Aprendizaje, Pruebas, Traducción

Artículo de investigación

Neste artigo, são apresentadas evidências empíricas sobre a tradução de um instrumento relacionado ao Inventário de Táticas de Aprendizagem, que mede a versatilidade de aprendizagem entre os empreendedores através de 4 principais estratégias: ação, pensamento, sentimentos e acesso a outros. O objetivo do artigo é mostrar como a tradução em estudos multiculturais não é suficiente para alcançar a validade do instrumento, de modo que o uso de Equações Estruturais pode fortalecer o processo.

Além de utilizar múltiplas técnicas e estratégias iterativas envolvendo tradução e adaptação próximas, a metodologia da Equação Estrutural foi usada para validar as relações entre construtos e variáveis, envolvendo análises confirmatórias.

Se demonstrou que, mesmo com uma tradução cuidadosa, o instrumento não reflete os construtos da versão em inglês. Essa evidência foi encontrada ao analisar as diferentes dimensões entre as versões em inglês e espanhol.

Instrumentos em estudos multiculturais requerem mais do que uma tradução para se adaptar a novos contextos. O presente artigo mostra que, com o uso de equações estruturais, os construtos podem mudar em diversos contextos internacionais; assim como as interpretações errôneas do instrumento podem acontecer se os estudos de validade de construto forem ignorados.

Alinhados à literatura existente, os resultados sugerem que, ao estudar um fenômeno como a aprendizagem em um contexto diferente da criação do instrumento, fatores culturais devem ser levados em conta para manter a validade de construto. Portanto, em pesquisas sobre empreendedorismo e administração, instrumentos como o Inventário de Táticas de Aprendizagem devem ser validados com uma análise confirmatória com o objetivo de referenciar adequadamente as diferentes estratégias de aprendizagem entre culturas.

Intercultural, México, Empreendedor, Aprendizagem, Testar, Tradução

Artigo de pesquisa

The purpose of this paper is to discuss the causes for the discrepancy between the utilization of statistical process control (SPC) in services and manufacturing. Furthermore, an approach for integrating customer demands and technical aspects of a service is presented. Services are very often characterized by a large number of characteristics, with relatively few observations. This research addresses a methodology based on Z and W charts, proposing it for the control of service features. An example associated with service provision is presented to illustrate the computation of Z and W as well as its interpretation.

The shortcomings of traditional control charts are stated and compared with the control charts for Z and W. An example illustrates how to utilize these charts, their ability to monitor several characteristics simultaneously, along with a continuous monitoring of process capability.

The proposed approach allowed the representation of several process characteristics in the same charts, even when those characteristics are not collected with the same periodicity. The Z and W charts are dimensionless and can be applied whenever it is possible to estimate process parameters, being an interesting approach to be utilized in Phase 2 of SPC. The difficulty for identifying the existence of non-random patterns emerges as the major shortcoming for these charts.

The proposed approach is a contribute to overcoming the discrepancy that persists between the utilization of SPC in services and manufacturing. Nevertheless, service production and consumption are frequently simultaneous, which constitutes an issue hard to deal with that is not fully addressed in this piece of research. Furthermore, the Z charts also present some disadvantages, notably an increased difficulty for analyzing the existence of non-random patterns, which worsens as increases the number of products/quality characteristics to be checked.

The proposed charts are very flexible and provide a rational utilization of resources. In fact, the representation of several processes is possible, along with the traditional analysis of patterns, thus providing an effective approach for controlling services processes.

Several quantitative approaches that have been utilized in manufacturing for a long time are still scarce in services. However, services play a major role in modern economies, being clear that improvements in service provision might have a direct impact on society.

The approach was based on the utilization of Z/W with samples, but it can be extended to individual observations or even to the control of discrete variables. Additionally, a methodology for process capability analysis in real-time is also proposed.

The study aims to examine the vertical integration of the sustainable development goals (SGDs) in Portuguese public higher education institutions, namely, at the level of undergraduate and master’s degrees, and the extent to which Portuguese higher education institutions (HEI) are preparing for the United Nations’ call to promote SDGs.

A content analysis of the designations and objectives of the 2,556 undergraduate and master’s degrees (in 33 Portuguese public higher education institutions) was done to determine whether they promote at least one SDG.

The results show that 198 courses directly address at least one SDG; on average, each higher education institution (HEI) has six courses that explicitly address at least one SDG; universities have more courses in SDG areas than in polytechnics; more master’s degrees embrace SDGs than undergraduate degrees; and most of the courses addressing SDGs are from the social sciences and humanities areas and from natural and environmental sciences.

This paper serves to raise the awareness of Portuguese HEIs of their role and responsibility in furthering SGDs.

The purpose of this work is to analyze the current state of implementation of sustainability development (SD) in Portuguese higher education institutions (HEIs).

A questionnaire was developed to measure the level of implementation of SD practices in HEIs as well as the number of rankings, certifications and declarations of these institutions. The questionnaire was sent by e-mail to all rectors, presidents, directors of faculties, departments and schools of Portuguese universities and polytechnics. A sample of 53 leaders was obtained.

Portuguese HEIs are mainly engaged in the social dimension of sustainability. The economic dimension emerges in second place and the institutional in third; the environmental dimension is the least developed. Except for a few specific topics (e.g. related to research on SD, and the offer of degree courses in SD), there are no significant differences between universities and polytechnics in the implementation of SD practices. Only 11 per cent of HEIs are innovators in the implementation of SD practices, and a majority of HEIs have implemented less than 34 per cent of the SD practices studied.

This research has a national scope, and the results should be interpreted only in the Portuguese context. Future studies should include a larger range of institutional actors within the faculty.

This study provides valuable insights and theoretical and methodological guidance for future implementation processes supporting the transition to sustainability in HEIs.

This is the first study conducted in Portuguese HEIs with the aim of determining their efforts to implement and promote sustainability.

A key concern in sports sponsorship decisions is knowing under what conditions sponsorship can effectively act as a brand building tool. The purpose of this study is to list attributes to use when examining congruency in the sponsorship of national football teams. The second aim was to test whether being a client of the sponsor brand and being involved with the sponsee moderates the relationship between image congruence and sponsorship response.

Data were collected on four sponsors of the Portuguese national team, just before the 20th Fédération Internationale de Football Association World Cup. Analyses were conducted on a representative national sample of fans. The research design encompassed a two-step approach. First, qualitative analysis identified the main attributes that fans associate with the national team. In the second quantitative phase, moderated regression analysis was used to test the proposed model.

This study confirmed sponsor–sponsee congruence in seven attributes (i.e. national symbol, strength, strong emotions, happiness, optimism, connection and positive feelings) enhances positive brand image and fans’ involvement with the national team moderates this relationship. Positive sponsorship outcomes tend to be higher for sponsors when fans are currently clients of the sponsor brand.

This study adds to previous research by using mixed methods to study sponsor–sponsee congruence regarding national teams and by testing whether fans being clients of sponsors and being involved with sponsees moderate sponsor–sponsee congruence.

This study aims to analyze the alignment between sustainable performance and sustainability planning in higher education, proposing a strategic map that integrates planning with the implementation of performance actions and sustainable performance on campuses.

The literature review development addresses sustainability in higher education institutions (HEIs). Data collection took place in two ways, documentary, through the analysis of documents and through an open interview, guided by a script with 13 questions. For data interpretation, the content analysis technique was applied.

To achieve the objective of this work, this study proposed a sustainable performance strategic map for better management of the university’s green strategies, based on three dimensions: internal processes, educational and sustainable performance.

This study’s main contribution was to propose a sustainable performance strategic map as a strategic management system aimed at HEIs to accelerate the promotion of sustainability in these organizations.

This study aims to develop a battery of items that assess the factors affecting sports events’ success from the promoters’ perspective and a measurement tool that identifies these stakeholders’ main priorities based on the importance-performance analysis (IPA) framework.

The research was conducted using mixed methods. In the first qualitative step, sports event management’s main dimensions were identified based on the existing literature and a comprehensive battery of corresponding items were developed via content analysis of interviews with experts. The second quantitative step focused on Lisbon, the 2021 European City of Sport. Promoters of 21 different medium or large sports events (number = 41 respondents) were asked to fill out a survey ranking each dimension’s items by performance and room for improvement. The IPA’s results are presented both for the overall sample and by promoter type (i.e. events with or without sports facilities).

The 46 items identified fall into the following three categories: sports infrastructure, city image and hospitality and event management (i.e. pre-event, event and post-event). Pre-event includes stakeholder management, organigram and responsibilities, business plan, marketing mix, risk assessment and sponsorship management. Sponsorship management stands out among the areas considered a priority by event promotors.

This study adds to the literature by offering a comprehensive approach to assessing empirically all stages of the event management process.

Universities are continually transforming its structure and governance in response to the new social, environmental and economic challenges. Particularly, there has recently been a growing academic interest for measuring sustainable practices of higher education institutions (HEI) aiming to monitor and reduce their carbon emissions, as well as transform them into more sustainable organizations. More recent studies began to focus also on the sustainable performance of distance education Universities. So it became crucial to evaluate their sustainability practices through sustainability assessment tools with the aim of improving their sustainability performance and boosting their role as agents of academic, social and economic change. The purpose of this study is to assess and compare holistically sustainability implementation in two similar distance learning universities and to evaluate their advantages and disadvantages.

One of the most rigorous and internationally used sustainability assessment tools was used – the Sustainability Tracking, Assessment and Rating System, to evaluate and compare sustainability implementation in two distance universities, one from Spain and another from Portugal: the Madrid Open University and Universidade Aberta. Indicators of both universities were compared and ways of improvement in both universities were widely discussed.

The results of this research show that there is a similar pattern in both universities. Both have low performance in campus operations and low levels of community participation but good performance in sustainability courses and programmes offer. The results of both institutions were compared and allowed a learning process for improvement.

This research hopes to contribute to the continuous research about the usefulness of sustainability assessment tools in particular when applied to distance universities at the time that offers new paths to carry out improved sustainable practices in crucial areas of interest such as research, administration, education and resource-saving. This research also highlights the value of distance learning universities and their ability to be more sustainable after the advent of COVID-19.

Scholars have long argued that churches play a critical role in mobilizing communities marginal to the political process, primarily by pooling resources, disseminating information, and providing opportunities for members to develop community networks, leadership, and civic skills. However, recent research suggests that churches only serve as effective mobilizing institutions when they engage in direct political discussion and recruitment. Even so, churches may face economic, legal, and institutional barriers to entering the political sphere, and explicit political speech and action remain rare. Through an analysis of two years of ethnographic fieldwork following faith-based community organizers attempting to recruit Spanish speakers throughout a Catholic Archdiocese into a campaign for immigrant rights, this paper explores the institutional constraints on church political mobilization, and how these are overcome to mobilize one of the most politically marginal groups in the United States today: Hispanic undocumented immigrants and their allies. I argue that scholars of political engagement must look beyond the structural features of organizations to consider the effects of their institutionalized domains and practices. While churches do face institutional barriers to political mobilization, activists who specialize their recruitment strategy to match the institutional practices of the organizations they target can effectively overcome these barriers to mobilize politically alienated populations.

Although there is a growing research stream on Performance Measurement and Management Systems (PMMS) in Ecosystems literature, current research offers limited theoretical insights into how PMMS deal with two types of strategies in uncertain ecosystems: ecosystem-based strategy – EBS (at the focal firm level) and ecosystem strategy – ES (at the ecosystem level). This study aims at identifying how PMMS are employed to deal with different types of strategies in uncertain ecosystems.

The authors employed an inductive, rich multiple case approach in five focal firms with platform ecosystems. Data collection involved multiple sources of information (primary and secondary data), combing retrospective and longitudinal perspectives. Data analysis combined replication and comparison logic with coding.

This study identifies four major distinctive dimensions of Ecosystem PMMS under uncertainty: (1) Integrative Performance (considering the different ecosystem actors’ performance), (2) Interdependence Performance (mutual, yet not necessarily convergent amongst ecosystem partners), (3) Regulative Performance (paradoxical in nature, having to cope with both flexibility and stability) and finally (4) Phased Learning Performance (non-linear).

Our primary contribution is a new framework for PMMS literature: a performance measurement and management system for dealing with strategies in ecosystems. This framework enables managing performance regarding both types of strategies (EBS and ES) and their interplay in uncertain ecosystems.

The ecosystem management requires focal firms to measure and manage the overall ecosystem’s performance, and it varies according to the type of strategy adopted in each case. Our framework provides dimensions that guide firms to build and implement PMMS for an ecosystem consistent with the ES. Therefore, it may improve performance, especially in uncertain business contexts.

The findings enrich PMMS literature in an ecosystem context related to the ES in uncertain environments.