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Conditional cash transfer (CCT) programs have become widespread in poor countries as a way to alleviate current poverty and provide investments in human capital that improve families’ living conditions in the long-term. The first goal is accomplished when poor families receive money from governments on a monthly basis. The second goal is reached by conditioning the cash transfers on certain behaviors such as children's regular school attendance. However, these programs may also have impacts on time use decisions within beneficiary households, particularly with respect to time spent working. Using data from 2003, we measure the impact of the Brazilian Bolsa Escola CCT program on children's and parents’ labor status using the econometric framework of policy evaluation. Probit regressions and propensity score-matching methods show that this program reduces the probability of work for children aged 6–15, increases school enrollment, and increases mother and father participation in the labor force.

Environmental problems and natural resources scarcity are changing contemporary organizations management. The current society quest sustainable companies, mostly concern with the consumption and efficient management of natural resources; those innovative and sustainable companies have the capacity to create innovations and beneficial outcomes for the environment and society. The purpose of this paper is to analyze the relevance of sustainable innovation on products and services innovation, in companies in the northern region of Rio Grande do Sul (Brazil).

In the research, the authors applied a descriptive and quantitative method, through exploratory factor analysis (EFA), with the use of varimax rotation and multiple linear regression. The final sample of the survey consists of 107 respondents.

The results indicate that sustainable innovation (SI) has an influence on products and services innovations in the organizations, moreover the process innovations can provide reduced energy consumption and waste emissions, indicating the awareness regarding the environmental issues.

It is emphasized that environmental issues must be linked to investments in environmental education projects in organizations, thus enabling a systemic and effective vision on this issue.

This research presents managerial and academic contributions, as it has developed a scale to measure the importance of SI on products and services innovation.

The study developed a measurement model, with observable variables based on the specialized literature. The measurement model consists of the constructs of product/service innovation and SI, which were statistically validated through the tests of normality, reliability and EFA.

The purpose of this paper is to propose a framework for analyzing the relationships between the antecedent factors, mediators and consequences of sustainable operations (SO), which can be applied for empirical studies in the manufacturing industry.

Based on the importance of identifying the determinants of SO, a qualitative and exploratory research was developed through an extensive review of the literature.

The main theoretical contribution of this research on organizational studies is the SO analysis proposition framework, which allows the elaboration of scales, based on observable variables of each factor, as well as evaluating the influence intensity of the relations between the constructs.

The proposed framework of this research was developed to analyze companies of the manufacturing industry. In order to use the proposed framework in other industries (commerce, services), it will be necessary to make adaptations and adjustments on the observable variables and constructs.

The paper has an important theoretical value in proposing scales for the SO factors and can be useful for future quantitative approach and surveys. Consequently, the researcher will be able to evaluate the scales of the factors and the intensity of the relations between observable variables in the formation of the constructs, as well as the intensity of influence among the constructs.

The organizations need to use strategic drivers such as market orientation (MO) and knowledge management (KM) for the development of product and process innovations, which can become a major source of sustainable competitive advantage (SCA). However, there is a gap in the use of these precepts, specifically in Brazilian companies. The purpose of this paper is to measure the relationship among MO, KM orientation, innovation (product and process), SCA and organizational performance (OP).

The research was developed through a survey in 1,072 companies from the industrial manufacturing, commerce and services activity sectors. For the analysis of data, the study used the structural equation modeling method.

This study contributes to managerial decisions in the choice of investment in strategic drivers and innovation, to obtain competitive advantages and economic gains. The results highlight that companies that use market information have formal structures to support innovation processes achieving more successful results.

The framework proposed in this research can be used for different industries and segments.

The theoretical value of this paper is the contribution to the literature with the provision of a framework to analyze the strategic drivers, which are antecedents of innovation in different sectors of activity and in different sizes of companies. It is highlighted as managerial contributions, that the study identified evidence that organizations seek a superior OP to the competitor, creating competitive differentials that result in SCA.

As few studies have explored the causal relationship between both the triple bottom line (TBL) of sustainability and the lean practices in higher education institutions (HEIs), the purpose of this paper is to analyze the relationships between lean practices and sustainable practices in Brazilian HEIs.

A survey was conducted with 454 public and private HEIs workers in Brazil. Confirmatory factor analysis and structural equations modeling were used for data analysis.

The results support the hypotheses of the study that HEI lean practices are positively related to environmental, economic and social practices in HEIs.

HEI managers must evaluate the use of lean practices in the organizational processes, to identify their weaknesses and to improve the aspects that influence a balanced TBL of sustainability practices.

The findings highlight the importance of leadership as a support for the workers, as a continuous improvement practice on a daily basis and a focus on the student as a basic principle of HEI success.

This article provides new measurement and structural models to analyze Lean thinking practices as the predictors of sustainability practices. The work could assist any HEI in prioritizing its strategies and actions and to contribute to excellence in decision-making. This study could contribute as a source of empirical data for transferability in other contexts for HEIs.

The purpose of this paper is to do a performance comparison of three different data mining techniques.

Logit model, decision tree and random forest are applied in this study on British, French, German, Italian, Portuguese and Spanish balance sheet data from 2006 to 2012, which covers 446,464 firms. Because of the strong imbalance with regard to the solvency status, classification trees and random forests are modified to adapt to this imbalance. All three model specifications are optimized extensively using resampling techniques, relying on the training sample only. Model performance is assessed, strictly, based on out-of-sample predictions.

Random forest is found to strongly outperform the classification tree and the logit model in almost all considered years and countries, according to the quality measure in this study.

Obtaining reliable estimates of default propensity scores is of immense importance for potential credit grantors, portfolio managers and regulatory authorities. As the overwhelming majority of firms are not listed on stock exchanges, annual balance sheets still provide the most important source of information. The obtained ranking of the three models according to their predictive performance is relatively robust, due to the consideration of several countries and a relatively long time period.

The purpose of this study is to understand how employees of an organization build and maintain successful business relationships by analyzing major antecedents of relationship quality and relationship commitment.

In this study, the authors develop a conceptual framework and formulate hypotheses regarding the relationships between demographic homophily, interpersonal communication, trust and dependent variables of perceived relationship quality and relationship commitment. This paper tests hypotheses presented in this study with the help of a structural equation model, based on a data sample from South Korea.

Unlike common thinking, demographic homophily does not directly increase the perceived relationship quality. The authors find a significant direct effect of interpersonal communication on relationship commitment but no effect of commitment on perceived relationship quality. Both seem to play independent roles but are positively influenced through the emergence of trust.

By applying demographic homophily and interpersonal communication as antecedents and trust as mediator and main driver, the authors research effects on perceived intra-organizational relationship commitment and perceived relationship quality. In detail, the authors confirm the hypothesized centrality of trust in intra-organizational relationships between demographic homophily, interpersonal communication and dependent variables of perceived relationship quality and relationship commitment. Nevertheless, the authors surprisingly find neither significant evidence that demographic homophily increases the perceived quality of a relationship, nor does it lead to higher communication intensity directly, even in an environment (i.e. Korea), where it would be expected.

Based on the findings of this study, there are several practical implications. Understanding the interpersonal relationship characteristics in an intra-organizational setting enables managers to optimize organizational efficiency and effectiveness. Intra-organizational relationships between employees’ are highly dependent on mutual trust as an indicator for relationship quality and relationship commitment. Organizations can also benefit from the understanding of the mechanisms of demographic homophily and interpersonal communication for the establishment of interpersonal trust as well.

Research about the effect of demographic homophily and interpersonal communication and the central role of trust in an intra-organizational approach to business relationships on perceived relationship quality and relationship commitment is scarce. The mutual testing of the effects and interaction of established constructs like demographic homophily, interpersonal communication and trust on perceived relationship quality and commitment constitutes the main contribution of this study to the literature on management and business relationships. The insights of this study about interpersonal bonding help companies to establish long-term business relationships.

Investigates the differences in protocols between arbitral tribunals and courts, with particular emphasis on US, Greek and English law. Gives examples of each country and its way of using the law in specific circumstances, and shows the variations therein. Sums up that arbitration is much the better way to gok as it avoids delays and expenses, plus the vexation/frustration of normal litigation. Concludes that the US and Greek constitutions and common law tradition in England appear to allow involved parties to choose their own judge, who can thus be an arbitrator. Discusses e‐commerce and speculates on this for the future.

Examines the tenth published year of the ITCRR. Runs the whole gamut of textile innovation, research and testing, some of which investigates hitherto untouched aspects. Subjects discussed include cotton fabric processing, asbestos substitutes, textile adjuncts to cardiovascular surgery, wet textile processes, hand evaluation, nanotechnology, thermoplastic composites, robotic ironing, protective clothing (agricultural and industrial), ecological aspects of fibre properties – to name but a few! There would appear to be no limit to the future potential for textile applications.